


The Slap Bet

by Cythieus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - no Wizarding War, BAMF Ginny Weasley, BAMF Hermione Granger, BAMF Luna Lovegood, Bisexuality, Bonding, Boys Will Be Boys, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fights, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Gen, Good Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Era, Humans vs. Werewolves, Implied Sexual Content, James Potter Lives, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Romance, Lesbian Sex, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, Misunderstandings, New Year's Eve, New York City, No Lesbians Die, Restraints, Romance, Roughness, Severus Snape Lives, Sexual Content, Sexual Inexperience, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Sirius Black Lives, Vaginal Fingering, Werewolves, action adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-04 22:22:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13374270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cythieus/pseuds/Cythieus
Summary: Hermione and Ginny enter into a not-so-friendly wager with Draco Malfoy only to find out they've been duped! Bamboozled! What follows is a discovery of feelings that neither expected and the kind of adventure that all Wizards and Witches crave.Set in an alternative universe where the Second Wizarding War never happened, Voldemort is imprisoned for killing Myrtle and the world is a happier place, that is until Fenrir and his pack of werewolves take an interest in Ginny and Hermione.





	1. The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> This was posted and completed back in 2010 I first finished reading the Harry Potter series (late, I know). What you see here is an updated version of that story with some corrected grammar and plot threads ironed out. The characters belong to JKR with few exceptions and the universe is a product of my head canon for this divergence. Characters may be somewhat different, but it's hard to say how someone would act without the threat of death breathing down their back for years of their schooling.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bet is made

Ginny stayed behind at Hogwarts this Christmas. With all of the detentions that Snape had doled out she didn't want to have face her mother. There was probably a Howler in her near future, though. Still she had high hopes for the quietness of the school. Growing up in a house with seven brothers made her very appreciative of alone time.

The thought of being in the girl's dormitory without another soul around was enough for her to revel in. Her brother Ron and his best friend Harry would be staying, of course. She wouldn't have been allowed to stay otherwise. But it was nearly impossible for boys to enter the girl's dorms in the tower. Anytime one tried, the steps turned into a slide.

This was her first day of peace and quiet. The chilled morning air felt heavy and the floor was so cold that it gave it the allusion it was wet. She rushed out of bed and threw on a heavy cloak and thick stockings. If this kept up she would have to sleep in the common room where there was a fire going most of the time.

She started for the door, ready to breeze through the room greeting Harry and Ron on her way down to the Great Hall. They were usually up and about early, plotting at some form of mischief.

As she opened the door and stepped onto the first riser of the stairs a familiar voice called up to her from the plush sitting chair near the fire. "Morning, Ginny," it was Hermione Granger. What was she doing here?

"Um—morning. Where's Harry and my brother?" Ginny asked. She felt that saying more might betray her anger over someone else staying in the tower.

"Undoubtedly still sleeping," Hermione said. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her back resting deep in the chair. In her hands was a large leather bound book that she held up so that it covered her face and only her bushy, brown mane of hair showed around it.

"Oh I see," Ginny said making her way down the steps. "I didn't…expect to see you here," she managed, breaking her words in odd places to hide her tone.

"My parents fault, really," Hermione started. "They assumed I'd go to the Burrow with Ron and you this year, so they skipped out of town a week ago. But with you two staying here I figured that I might as well too—would be odd otherwise," she said.

Ginny couldn't blame her, and she had never minded Hermione before. In fact they had always been good friends, spending much of the day locked away in Ginny's room and talking about various things. "Were you looking forward to it?" asked Ginny.

"I was, but this is fine too—I can catch up on my reading," she said.

A smile crept over Ginny's face. Well this wouldn't be so bad; Hermione would probably spend the entire day out of the dorms with Ron and Harry or reading. She wouldn't be around more than Ginny could stand it, that's for sure.

"I do need to go into Hogsmead, I asked Professor Dumbledore if I could, he said it was fine. Would you like to come?" she asked.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, sure. But I'm going to head down and grab something to eat."

"Okay, I'm not really hungry but I'll meet you in the Great Hall and we can leave," Hermione explained.

Ginny trotted out of the room and through the port hole that the picture of the Fat Lady guarded. The walk down to the Great Hall was a long one and when there was no one else in the corridors. As she turned the corner to head toward the Great Hall she spotted Draco Malfoy accompanied by Professor Snape.

She locked eyes with Draco, best thing to do considering that he seemed to get off on making like people feared him and what little influence he had. The thick smell of potions wafted through the air as Professor Snape and Draco rushed passed her. His greasy black hair guarded his face so that she couldn't even see his lips move when he spoke to her.

"Morning, Miss Weasley," his tone was almost taunting. They had spent every night for the last two weeks of term together on account of her talking back.

Despite school not being in session, she knew better than to test Snape this soon. "Morning, Professor."

Draco Malfoy shot her a cold smile over his shoulder.

She followed them into the Great Hall and found that the showing at breakfast was more than pathetic. Draco appeared to be literally the only Slytherin. There was a pair of Hufflepuff girls and one guy, none of which Ginny knew well. Not a single Ravenclaw and her. It was a stark contrast from the huge meals normally held here. The staff and students sat cramped together at one table in the center of the room. Ginny ended up in a chair between Professor McGonagall and Hagrid.

McGonagall simply nodded down at Ginny over her spectacles and gave a curt smile. "Miss Weasley, is this your first time staying behind for the holidays?" she asked.

She nodded. "I figured since Ron and Harry were sticking around, I might as well keep an eye on them and see what they're up to," Ginny said as she shoveled food onto her plate.

"I figured they'd be here, I had better keep an eye out for trouble," said Professor McGonagall raising one eyebrow.

The rest of breakfast passed without incident except for when out of nowhere, Dumbledore felt it pertinent to stick a spoon to his nose and turn to Professor Snape. As Snape turned to see it, his thick black hair flashed in Ginny's direction.

"How lovely, sir," Snape said in a voice that couldn't have seemed less impressed. He quickly and quietly went back to eating his food.

When Ginny left the Great Hall with the small crowd of students, she found Hermione just outside of the doors waiting for her. A smile crept over her face as she approached. "Are you ready to go?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah—you know how I am in the mornings?" Ginny said.

Hermione nodded. "You still looked utterly shattered coming down those stairs this morning." They were headed for the doors of the castle now. "Did you get enough rest last night?" she asked.

Ginny sighed. "Not really, I haven't been sleeping so well—not sure why," she said.

"Not sleeping well?" came Draco's voice from somewhere behind them in the corridor. "And I see we're headed into Hogsmead too. Where's Potter and his boyfriend? They're not invited?" asked Draco.

"It's just us, Malfoy—sorry," Hermione said indignantly.

His sneer became more apparent. "Well, it seems that Gryffindor has a new power couple," he chuckled to himself.

Hermione grabbed Ginny by the upper arm and headed for the door towing the younger girl behind. "Come along, Ginny."

"If you two would like some company, I'll be along later," Draco explained as they headed for the door.

"I'd sooner stick my wand in my mouth and fire off a random curse," Ginny uttered once they were safely out onto the path. "He's been acting like that all morning," she added.

"Ugh, have you seen the way he lays himself all over that pug-faced git Pansy Parkinson?" asked Hermione. "It's absolutely disgusting—it's just…well…"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad—though I'm sure you heard how she got hurt this past summer, I'm shocked Draco would even want to be around her after that embarrassment," Ginny snickered.

Hermione looked at her with a blank face. "I didn't hear about it, I saw her limping around and all…"

"Well," Ginny began to explain as the smile on her face grew, "Luna Lovegood heard Astoria and Daphne Greengrass making jokes about Pansy's injury and how she got it through improper use of a Comet 260 Broomstick…" she snickered.

"Improper use…" Hermione muttered. Her eyes widened as the realization washed over her. "NO! You don't mean…"

"I guess all of the motion must have caused the broom to think it was time to fly and ended up tossing her and causing a little bruising," Ginny said as they walked along. She turned to face Hermione on the last part. "There's no cushioning charm on that end of the broom…"

A sheepish grin took Hermione's face and her cheeks reddened. "And…Luna repeated this? How did she…well…hear?"

"Oh people say all kinds of things around Luna thinking she's too crazy to understand them or something," Ginny said. "She told me about it and Fred and George heard too…so we kind of just spread the word…"

"You're awful, Ginny," Hermione said, despite her smile.

"Well she's the one who was trying to get off on brooms—I guess Draco's not useful, even in that area," even Ginny felt the need to avert her eyes from Hermione's at that point, but she still laughed.

* * *

 

Tomes and Scrolls was the first destination that Hermione had booked for day. It was honestly all she had planned, but as Ginny dragged her and the bags of books out into the street. The cobblestones were covered in white powder and the roofs of the houses and shops sported blankets of white and dangling icicles.

"Ginny, where are you dragging me off to?" asked Hermione as she stumbled along behind her.

With a backward glance and a smirk, Ginny told her. "Three Broom Sticks, I want a few Butterbeers," she said.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, actually," Hermione said as she wrenched her wrist free of Ginny's grip. She rubbed at her wrist, grimacing slightly.

"I'm shocked. Hermione Granger actually wanting to take some time off from her reading for something fun."

"I have fun all the time. I'm loads of fun, now," Hermione said.

Ginny plodded through the snow toward the tavern. The sounds of students laughing and chatting that usually wafted through the door were replaced by with the dull thud of Madam Rosmerta's heels on the wooden floor. They pushed their way into the room and the smell of stale Butterbeer and pipe-smoked-tabacco.

Hermione shut out the cold behind them and Ginny muttered. "Merlin be damned," when Hermione looked back, she was pointing across the room at where Draco Malfoy was sitting at a table alone with an old leather bound book.

"What's he doing here?" asked Hermione. "What's he doing reading?"

"No idea," Ginny said. "But we're not leaving on account of him."

"I have half a mind to find out what slime like him reads in his spare time," Hermione crossed the room and Ginny followed. As she passed Draco, she glanced down at the pages. "I should have known, Quidditch—I didn't think you could read anything with substance," she said.

Draco never looked up at her. "Oh it's the Ginger-Witch and her Mud-blood pet, sorry I don't tend to take advice from people who've slapped me in the face in the past," he said.

"And I don't tend to get men and their obsession with sports, it seems to have even infected those Wizards that think they're better than everyone else," Hermione said.

Ginny leaned out from behind Hermione. "It's not just boys, I mean I love Quidditch too—it's more than just some game," she said.

Hermione took Ginny by the arm. "I think you've been in a house with too many men too long," she said sympathetically.

"No...I just like Quidditch," said Ginny with a slight growl in her voice.

Draco sighed forcefully to call their attention back to them. "Well put, Ginge. See the problem that we have here is that Granger doesn't understand things that take actual skill. If she can't read how to do it in a book she considers it below her."

"I understand just fine," Hermione said.

"Then prove it, you can fly a broom. Why not put your skills to the test against someone else?" Draco said.

Ginny stepped between them. "You think we'd let her go up against you in any sort of physical contest? You'd just rig it in your favor or use it as an excuse to feel her up!" she said

"I wasn't talking about me, I meant you and her. You play Keeper and let her take four penalty shots...she can see how hard just that is," Draco said.

"This is a waste of our time, come on Ginny."

Draco piped up again. "If you make just one of those shots, I will let you slap me in the face in front of anyone and everyone three times," he held up three fingers as if to indicate the number.

"And I have a one in four chance?" Hermione asked. "How long do I have to practice?"

"None, we go to the Pitch right now," Draco said.

"And what do you get if you win?" Hermione asked.

Draco smiled. "You know that Potions Essay that's due the start of term? You write mine, Crabbe's and Goyle's," he said.

"I don't know about this," Ginny said.

"There's no catch—I'll even write up a contract real quick," Draco said.

Hermione nodded. "I want to see it before I make any kind of deals—I'm sure this will be magically binding so you can't weasel your way out of it," said Hermione.

"Of course," said Draco. "And I'm sure you won't cheat and let your little pet scroe, she'll probably fall off the broom before she even gets near the goal." Draco said eyeing Ginny.

Hermione grabbed Ginny by the arm. "Then I'm going to borrow Harry's broom and we'll meet you out on the Pitch in...whatever the gear is you wear for this rubbish."

* * *

 

The Quidditch Ptich was indiscernible against the snowy backdrop of the forest. Hermione borrowed Harry's Quidditch robes and scarf and Ron's goggles, though she was still shocked at how well they fit her given their origins. Clad in the gold and scarlet uniform and with Harry's Firebolt under arm, she made her way out to the field with Ron and Harry. The two of them were shocked she was even going through with it.

"When have you ever been on a broom?" asked Harry. "I don't think I've even seen you on a broom..."

"I can fly a broom just fine, thank you very much," said Hermione.

Ron's scarf had blown back in his face and was muffling his speech. "Why did you have to go and bet Malfoy, though?" he asked.

"What? You don't want to watch me slap Malfoy's face in front of the whole school with his permission?" Hermione said.

"Good point," Ron replied.

Ginny was waiting around near the far end of the field and Malfoy was at the very front of the stands leaned back against the benches with his arms outstretched over the row of seats above him for support. "I didn't think you'd be showing up Granger!" Malfoy said.

Hermione climbed the stairs into the stands with Harry and Ron at her back. "Yeah, but I'm not shaking on anything till I see the contract," she said holding out her hand.

Draco pulled out a small roll of parchment. "And see it you shall, I made some minor adjustments, I think you'll like them," he said.

She took the paper and was shocked at the verbosity of what Draco had written. "This is really...extensive but wait..."

"I figured that this would make the contest a little more balanced, this way you and Weasley don't conspire to watch me be embarrassed, you can never trust a Mud-blood," he said.

Ron went to step in but Harry and Hermione stopped him.

"This won't do..." Hermione said. "Ginny, come up here!"

When she reached their spot on the bleachers Hermione held out the contract. "Look what he did..." Hermione said.

Ginny took the contract to read it:

_The contract signees, Missus Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, are hence forth entered into an agreement that Hermione Granger must score one penalty shot against Ginny Weasley's guard. If the shot is made, Hermione Granger may slap Ginny three times. If she fails, then Ginny is to slap her three times. If Hermione manages to get two of the four, she may slap Draco Malfoy once, but still must slap Ginny. In this bet, acting as commissioner in case there might be some discrepancy is Draco Malfoy. Slaps must avoid the the lips, ears and noses at all costs. No gloves or rings should be worn. A slap's hardness is to be delivered at the discretion of the slapper._

Ginny smiled. "So we can slap one another as hard...or soft as we want?" she asked tapping her wand to the paper in case there was any hidden text.

Draco examined the contract. "I guess so, I didn't realized I had worded it like that. Bugger," Draco said.

"Well no one is slapping my baby sister!" Ron said.

"Ron, let me decide this for myself," said Ginny. "I mean watching Hermione embarrass Draco might be worth getting hit..." she turned to smile at Hermione. "And she doesn't have to hit me hard."

Hermione smiled. "Looks like we're taking you up on the bet." She offered her fist out and Draco covered it with his. Ginny joined in to and Draco uttered something. A silvery thread bound its way around their fists, sealing the deal and they broke apart.

Ginny and Hermione took to the skies as Harry pitched the Quaffle up for them. Hermione missed the first toss and had to swoop down slowly to take it from Harry's hands. Her broom flight was rocky and it seemed she really hadn't spent much time on them. In all honesty she hadn't seen the need for fancy maneuvering on brooms.

She gripped the ball tight and circled around to head back for the rings. She figured the only way that she would hit get past the rings would be to speed at them and fling the ball as hard as she could.

The Firebolt zipped down the field, Hermione couldn't believe how fast the broom could move and found herself slowing before she reached the goal post area. Ginny covered the far left ring so she banked hard right and threw the ball. It clattered off the bottom of the right hoop and barely passed through.

Ginny moved back to the center ring and Hermione swooped down to retrieve the ball. The landing was hard and hurt her knees but a feeling of exhilaration had come over her. Maybe I do have some talent for this?

Her next pass was much the same, Ginny actually was in the way this time but she went for it and scored. It looked like she would definitely be hitting someone, though she didn't feel the need to make it any harder than a little tap for Ginny.

Shot three was hard, the wind picked up and the broom rocked. Hermione hung on tight as she passed the goal and slammed the ball through it. She spun to a stop on the other side and turned to pick up the ball and go out for her last attempt. She watched the stands, looking at Draco to see the expression on his face. The fear his eyes held might drive her forward and even she had to admit this hadn't gone how she expected. Racing down the field with the Quaffle held high she whipped around the goal posts, dodging Ginny and put the ball in one final time.

Ron and Harry erupted into a boisterous applause from the stands. Draco sat with his head resting against his head. He didn't seem scared as Hermione passed, in fact he seemed to be smiling. Ginny raced past and dropped to the ground near the entrance to the stands. Ron and Harry were charging down to meet them. Draco lagged behind.

"Blimey Hermione," Ron said. "Maybe you should tryout next year!"

"I never really knew you had it in you," Harry said rubbing the back of his neck.

Draco clapped slowly as he approached them. "Didn't expect that, impressive show Granger," he said.

"I guess I had better get to lightly patting Ginny's face," Hermione giggled.

A distressed look overtook Draco's face. "Slapping? You must have misread the parchment," he said as he handed the scroll over again.

Hermione looked down at the paper and within seconds had noticed changes. The first of which was hers and Ginny's signatures at the bottom from when the bet had been made. The rest of the text read as follows:

_The contract signees, Missus Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, are hence forth entered into an agreement that Hermione Granger must score one penalty shot against Ginny Weasley's guard. If the shot is made, Hermione Granger must kiss Ginny three times. If she fails, then Ginny is to kiss her three times. In this bet, acting as commissioner in case there might be some discrepancy is Draco Malfoy. Kisses must be on the lips. No barriers are to block the lips. Kisses are to be delivered open mouth._

"Draco Malfoy you smarmy bastard!" Hermione lunged toward him with her wand drawn up in anger.

"Miss Granger—I never thought I'd hear such brash language from you," came Snape's voice from the entrance to the field. "That's going to be twenty points from Gryffindor..." He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and was already on his way away from them.

Hermione's eyes shifted from Ginny, to Harry and then to Ron. Draco had tricked them both, even that act about the slaps not having to be that hard. He turned to follow Snape back to the school. "You really ought to read your contracts better, Granger," he waved to her back over his shoulder. "And remember, I have to see those kisses," he added.

"Kisses?" asked Ginny.

"What's Malfoy going on about?" asked Ron.


	2. The Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first kiss or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my characters. Totally AU.

Anger and panic showed in Ginny's rapid breaths and she could feel her heart exploding in her chest as another of Dumbledore's small magic devices clattered to the floor of the office and skittered across the floor. Hermione had backed away, her face still flooded with embarrassment as she watched Ginny's display.

"What do you mean it's not reversible?" Ginny screamed. "He lied to both of us! It was a dirty trick!"

Dumbledore sat with his hands folded in front of him on the desk, his steely blue eyes looking up at her without anger or discontent. And then he did the last thing Ginny or Hermione expected. He laughed. "Miss Weasley, while it is a quite dirty, albeit clever, trick—it is still a magically binding contract, much like the Unbreakable Vow or the Tri-Wizard Tournament we hosted in your third year," Dumbledore explained calmly. "But this is just three kisses…"

"Three open mouthed kisses! He worded it like that just because he knew," said Ginny.

"You're friends, this shouldn't be a life ending event—Draco could have written much worse into that contract," Dumbledore said leaning forward.

Ginny pointed Phoenix from its perch, the bird began to flutter and hop. "How would you like it if I made you kiss this...this bird!" the creature took flight and landed atop a bookshelf letting out a triumphant shriek.

"I wouldn't mind," Dumbledore laughed.

"Sir, why isn't Draco being punished?" asked Hermione.

"He's got detention to begin at the start of term, but he's not in serious trouble seeing as your participation was made by choice," Dumbledore pointed a finger at them.

"I don't bloody kiss girls, even girls that are my friends!" Ginny said, her face was reddening more now.

Dumbledore sighed. "I actually don't make it a habit of kissing girls either," he smiled.

Ginny growled with her fists balled up at her sides. "I'm so mad, I don't know what I might do," she muttered.

With a wandless-wave of his hand Ginny's body went limp. Her eyes were too heavy to hold open and she collapsed into the chair next to the desk, asleep. "Her mother was the same way," Dumbledore said.

"Professor, sir? Is there anything we can do to change the terms or perhaps take the terms back to what they were?" asked Hermione.

"Magical contracts have something called trueform, it's a common concept in magic and…" Dumbledore started but Hermione cut across him,

"…it states that trueform of the object or person is what matters, not the how it appears at the time. So that contract we signed technically didn't exist, we were signing the one we couldn't see?" Hermione said with her shoulders sagging. "So…"

"…so all there is left to do is make the best of things. You can go out there and give the whole school a show if you're feeling like putting everything right up front—word is bound to get around. Or you can do it in private, but Draco Malfoy has to be there…"

"…pervert…" Hermione cut in.

"…the more embarrassed you act about it, the more Malfoy will know he has struck a nerve. My suggestion is that your best revenge would be to give the illusion you're enjoying it," Dumbledore said.

For a moment Hermione was quiet. "Can't you just use the Imperius Curse on us and make us…"

"…now Miss Granger," he said narrowing his eyes at her.

"I think I shall return to the common room, but thank you for the advice…sir," Hermione said as she threw Ginny's arm over her shoulder. "Can you awaken her?"

"I fear that it might be a bad idea for her to wake up still in here, I don't want to get slapped," Dumbledore chuckled.

Hermione nodded. "I've got it," she aimed her wand toward Ginny's limp form. "Locomotor Ginny!" with her wand raised, she directed her friend's body toward the rotating staircase that led back down to the corridor, suddenly feeling somewhat lucky that all of this had occurred during the holiday season.

* * *

 

Ginny awakened in the common room of Gryffindor Tower with one of Ron's blankets tossed over her. She sat up, rubbing a hand over her freckled face and yawning. "What happened?" she asked glancing around at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "The last thing I remember is…Dumbledore's office…" she said.

Ron rubbed the back of her shoulders. "Hermione said you got pretty mad—Dumbledore was scared you'd hit him…" Ron said.

"He used a sleep spell on me?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, he kind of had to, you scared his bird," Hermione explained. "Besides, while you were knocked out he basically explained there's no way out of this, we have to kiss."

Harry shifted in his chair. "Really?" there was a hint of a smile on his face, but it quickly vanished.

"This is not happening," Ron burst out. "If you kiss Hermione then…then…I'm telling Mum. There, I've said it!"

"Oh shove it, Ron," Hermione said. "We have to kiss or something…horrible will happen."

Ginny's attention was on Hermione now. "Something like what?"

"We'll die," she said. "Simply put."

"Malfoy…he's got some bloody cheek," Ginny muttered.

"Couldn't you just kiss right here and get it all over with?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head. "No, Draco must be present," she explained.

Harry glanced to Ginny and then Hermione. "Then I want to be there…for moral support," Harry said.

"No one is being there because no one is watching my sister kiss anyone," Ron said.

"So you would rather me die?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe you can ask Draco to let you out of the contract?" asked Ron.

A grimace spread over Harry's face and he leaned forward to place a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "That's probably what he wants," Harry said.

"Harry's right, I'm not asking that creep for anything. I think Dumbledore has the best idea, we need to appear to really enjoy it. The more he thinks we're suffering the more likely he is to revel in what's going on," said Hermione.

"You're not serious…" Ginny said giving her a deadpan stare.

"Look, I've considered some other options. There's this potion, a polyjuice potion, which can change one's appearance. I don't know that it will be able to fool the contract, but I thought that maybe we could change Harry or Ron into one of us and then…well the other would have to kiss them…" Hermione said.

"Do you think that would work?" asked Ginny.

Hermione nodded. "I don't see why it wouldn't, except…"

"…polyjuice potion takes about a month to brew and is a pretty hard thing to get right," said Harry.

"Yes, that was the down side to that plan," Hermione said lowering her gaze.

Ginny folded her arms. "Then we're going to have to do it and make sure that Draco gets his in one way or another. Let's just get it over with," she rose from her seat and stood in front of the fireplace. "Well come on Hermione, Harry—you stay here Ron."

"I wasn't planning on going," Ron said.

"Where's that map you're always using to avoid Filch?" asked Ginny.

Harry ran to his pack and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "It's the middle of the day, who are you hiding from?" asked Harry.

Ginny took the map from Harry and spread it open on the table. She pulled her wand and tapped it gently on the page, uttering the map's incantation as she did. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," a schematic of the school spread from her wand tip. "Okay, Draco's at the Astronomy Tower…mischief managed," the map vanished.

"So we're headed there now?" Hermione asked.

"He can't continue to lord over us with this, we're taking control back, just like you said," Ginny said as she thrust the map back into Harry's hands.

* * *

 

The Astronomy Tower was laden with snow when they reached it. Though Ginny had expected as much, Harry and Hermione seemed shocked that Ron really did decline to come. The trio found Draco standing and looking out over the school grounds toward the Pitch. He seemed to hear them approach, as he shifted slightly as they came near, but he didn't turn to face them.

"Malfoy, we came up here to discuss the terms of this bet," said Ginny.

"Terms are already decided, Weasley," he said. "They're in the contract you signed."

With a glance to Hermione, Ginny sighed. "We get that, we just want to go ahead and do the deed, supposedly we only need you to witness," Ginny said.

"Then why is Potter here?" asked Draco.

"Moral support," Harry answered quickly.

"I see," Draco said. "Well then, let's get on with it. You came to do the deed, right? Well this seems like a romantic enough spot," he laughed.

Ginny cracked a smile at Hermione. "It'll have to do," she said and snuck the other girl a wink that even Harry didn't see.

Harry sidled up next to Draco expectantly, both boys staring as Ginny closed the gap between herself and Hermione. She grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her to the middle of the walkway. Ginny had kissed boys before, but only two. And even then the first kiss was always something strange and new.

_Hermione had said to make it seem like it was enjoyable, I can do that…I think…_

With a shaky hand, Ginny brushed back Hermione's curls and kept her gaze locked forward. Somehow she knew it would be easier if she didn't see Harry and Draco. Harry actually worried her more than Draco but she hadn't told him no only because it seemed to make Ron madder.

Their gazes locked and she saw Hermione's eyes starting to shut, Ginny drew her own closed. The first hint of their lips touching came faster than Ginny expected and carried with it a soft sweet taste of Butterbeer on Hermione's mouth. Gently, they stayed locked together for a moment and Ginny's arm's dangled lifelessly at her sides.

There was something soft and sensuous about Hermione's kiss, but behind it she could sense the exploratory urgency too. Ginny's hand, as if on instinct, ghosted up the front of Hermione's robes and came to cradle her just under the chin.

Ginny felt Hermione's lips part and opened hers fully, tilting her head to one side. Suddenly they were kissing and kissing, any sense of the frigid air or the two boys watching dropped away for a moment. They parted and stared at each other for a moment. The warmth between them was like the heat the soldered two metals together.

That magnetism had pulled them out of the moment and they edged closer to each other, Ginny shut her eyes.

"I didn't think you'd do it, heh," Draco sneered and then laughed. "That's a good show, Potter seemed to be enjoying himself."

"Come off it, Malfoy," Harry started; his cheeks reddening from Ginny could only guess was anger. "They're doing what you want, they have two more and it's over."

"Yeah, but not today, the kisses are at the discretion of me," Draco explained. "So I'm going to make sure to alert you before I decide when the next dress rehearsal is."

"Dress rehearsal?" Hermione asked. She stepped to the side of Ginny now, turning to face sharply away and averting her gaze from anyone else. Her fingers combed through her bushy chestnut hair.

Draco started for the steps that led back into the castle. "Yeah, you're getting one more practice run before we take this show in front of a real audience," he said.

"Wait, you…" Hermione started.

Ginny grabbed her by the arm. "Hermione don't…" she yanked her own hand away, there was this strange lightness that seemed to flip her insides and she writhed her hands together. "Let him go…remember what Dumbledore said," Ginny muttered.


	3. The First Bite of an Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroines face the fall out of their bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where things get interesting, I would also like to cite that without "The Original Naked Quidditch Match" by Evilgoddess this idea wouldn't have been possible. The Magically binding bet and all.

Hermione spirited Ginny away from Harry, telling him to head back to the common room. A strange heat still burned in her cheeks as they made their way toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. No one would be in there to eavesdrop. No one ever went there.

As they sprinted, Hermione out front with Ginny being dragged behind, to the door the realization washed over Ginny. "Why are we going in there?" asked Ginny.

"Because there is one place we're sure to never have any interruptions if anyone else is prowling around the school," Hermione said. "I mean no one wants to have a tinkle with someone crying and shouting at them," she added.

Myrtle was the ghost that haunted the series of bathrooms at Hogwarts and most prominently this girl's bathroom. Because of her, no one ever used it and you could have total seclusion from other students—if you didn't mind all the crying. Hermione, Harry and Ron had taken some of their more illicit activities to this restroom and over time Myrtle seemed to have developed a strong dislike of Hermione.

They pushed through the door and the bathroom was silent with the exception of the sound of running water. The end stall was cascading rolling water out onto the floor. Hermione turned her wand on the toilet, whipped it around expertly and said. "Reparo!" there was an abrupt gurgling sound from within the toilet and the water ceased.

"Looks like Myrtle's at work again," said Ginny walking to the higher ground near the sinks. The floor was still flooded.

Hermione nodded. "But what are we going to do about this! The whole schools going to know…maybe it's easier to do that when it's just a few people looking," Hermione's voice was just above a whisper.

"Kissing anyone with everyone staring is nerve-wracking," Ginny admitted.

"Who's kissing?" came a shrill giggle of a voice.

"No one, Myrtle. Can we get some privacy?" Hermione said sternly.

The apparition of a teenage girl rose out of one of the stalls. She wore round glasses and had a dark curly mane of hair handing down her back and was still dressed in a Hogwarts uniform. "Oh it's you," she said regarding Hermione. "The mean one who comes here to pick at me, what makes you think I am going to give you any form of privacy?"

"Look Myrtle, your hair looks very pretty today," said Ginny.

"Stop teasing…I know you were probably just about to make fun of me, talking about kissing when you know I can't kiss anyone. You came here to tease and belittle me," she whined. The waterworks were about to begin.

"Myrtle," Hermione forced herself to be as polite as possible. "If you give us just fifteen minutes, that's all, I will bring Harry back here to talk to you later today!"

"Harry!" Myrtle squealed. "You could get him to come here and see me?"

"Yes, he is friends with Ginny and I," Hermione said. "And he'd just love to see you, talks about how fantastic you are, like, constantly," it was hard for her to believe she was able to lie like this.

Myrtle floated up into the air and made a quick rotation. "Alright then, I'm going to go out to the lake and check on some things…but Harry had better be here or you're going to regret it…" the ghost said before diving into one of the toilets and vanishing down the drain.

Hermione leaned back against the edge of the sinks and sighed. "That worked, luckily, but Harry really does need to come here later today," she said.

"He'll do it, I think if we ask," Ginny said rubbing her shoulder.

Contact with Ginny was weird now, especially with them all alone in this bathroom. She wanted to test it again, to see if what had happened on top of the Astronomy Tower was a fluke, something in the moment or brought on by the need to do what had to be done.

Or did she just want to kiss Ginny again because it had felt so good?

Hermione reached up and grasped Ginny's hand at her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "If you want to go ahead and try and worm out of this, it's okay—we don't have to stick it out just to spite him if you don't want…"

"I want to!" Ginny cut her off. "I mean…I want to make sure that perverted little freak gets what he deserves."

Hermione glanced down. "Thanks…isn't entirely his fault though," she said.

"It's not, we both agreed to it," Ginny said. As she pulled herself nearer, Hermione could smell the lavender and cherry blossom aroma of Ginny's shampoo.

Trying not to think of the smell, Hermione threw her arm over Ginny. "I just…if that perverted jerk Malfoy shows his face around me without anyone else, I'm going to hex him in to next week…he'll wish he were never born…"

The sound of a toilet flushing cut Hermione off. She and Ginny froze staring at one of the stalls across the room, the door was closed and for the first time they noticed a pair of legs with dark pants bunched up around the feet.

There were a few wordless moments where Hermione's thoughts punctuated with the slosh of the toilet or the tearing of perforated paper. Finally, as if in one motion, the pants were drawn up and the door swung open to reveal the hook nosed Severus Snape. His black eyes swept over the scene before him as Hermione and Ginny stared back with mouths agape.

"Making threats against the well being of other students, Miss Granger?" he said as he donned his cloak and swept from the stall. He strode up to the two girls, passing close in front of them. "That's going to be ten points from Gryffindor," he said bring his face down to Hermione's level.

"Why are you sulking about in the girl's lavatory?" asked Ginny defiantly.

"I simply like the fragrant toilet paper they use here," he glared at them before washing his hands and was gone from the room.

"I'm sorry, Hermione—look, we'd better get back to Ron and Harry," Ginny suggested.

* * *

 

Ginny climbed the stairs into the Gryffindor Tower girl's dormitories. She couldn't be around Hermione anymore, not after what happened. And when Ron had heard, he'd nearly exploded in rage. Harry was alright with things and being supportive and encouraging until he found out he'd have to go talk with Moaning Myrtle for a while.

She had forgone dinner for some of the sweets that she had left over from her last trip to Honeydukes, all of this in an attempt to avoid the others. The sky darkened rapidly and before she knew it, Ginny was laying in her bunk in the dark all alone.

It was what she had hoped for in the beginning, it was part of the reason she had stayed behind. Hermione was in another dorm with some other girls her own age. Even with her staying here there was a minimal chance of Ginny running into her in the dormitories. Mulling over that thought bothered her and she didn't know why.

Hermione had dragged her off from the others to Myrtle's Bathroom and while she didn't want to go, there was this desire for her to talk with Hermione about what happened and how it happened. Of course then Snape would have heard the whole thing and that would have made things even more disastrous.

Out in the corridor in front of her dorm there were footsteps on the floor. She followed them mentally and could hear them coming nearer. Even with the moonlight flooding through the window, the dormitory had never seemed so dark. The footfalls grew closer until Hermione's form pinched its way out of the darkness.

Bathed in the moon's silver light, Hermione looked as ghostly as Myrtle but there was something attractive about her even in that quality. She sat on the edge of the bed with a slight slosh and suddenly Ginny realized that Hermione was soaked. Her hair clung to her pale cheeks and was matted down to her forehead and her clothes were stuck to her body.

"Gin? You awake?" came Hermione's voice, just above a whisper.

She hesitated, she didn't know why exactly. "You're—you're all wet," Ginny said.

"Yeah, about that—Draco pushed me into the lake," Hermione said, her voice shaking.

Ginny could feel her shivering against the bed. "He pushed you into the water in this cold?" she asked.

Hermione nodded. "And it's really cold, I feel like I can't get warm. I think I lost my wand."

Sitting up in the bed, Ginny threw the comforter up onto Hermione's head and tried to shake her hair dry. "We've got to get you dry before you're sick…you're going to have to get out of those clothes," Ginny said.

Raking at the buttons and tugging the blouse open, Hermione undressed and Ginny froze for a moment. In an instant Hermione was undressed and her exposed skin was luminous in the silver light. Thinking quickly, Ginny tossed the blankets over her and patted them to dry her. She was careful not to touch certain places…the place that even the light hadn't touched when Hermione was exposed.

"This isn't going to work," Hermione said as she glanced up at Ginny and those big brown eyes caught just the right hint of light. She pressed her palm in against Ginny's breast and just the thin fabric of the dressing gown separated them. "Body heat…"

Before Ginny could consider it, she was laying with Hermione's body pressed to hers. They were facing each other and of similar height. Now there seemed to be a glow in the room, a warmth that brought with it golden light. Hermione's hands wandered over Ginny's robe in what Ginny had convinced herself was a quest for warmth.

Hermione's knee worked its way in between Ginny's legs and she thought about how it would be without the dressing gown, without anything else between them. She thought she would have died if that happened.

And then they were kissing and Hermione's hands became more exploratory. She wasn't afraid to put them anywhere.

As long as there's a robe, no one can say we're doing anything wrong.

The kisses were rough and their lips were locked together. Hermione's tongue demanded entry to her mouth with a kind of forcefulness that Ginny would have never expected. In the six years she had know the other girl there wasn't any clue she could be like this. A new heat emanated from Hermione's fingers as they inched down and drew up the hem of Ginny's robe.

She traced a line over the rise of Ginny's hip bone, down the delta between the leg and pelvis and made circles round and round inside her thigh. The anticipation hurt, in a way that reminded Ginny of how her mouth would swell and salivate with the first tangy bite of an orange. She let a sharp stifled gasp escape and she jostled against the covers to urge Hermione's fingers onward.

Ginny awoke in a cold bed. Cloud filtered sunlight flooded through the tower windows. It was morning at Hogwarts. She drank in several sharp breaths of morning air as the realization flooded over her.

Was I dreaming?

The contents of her dream didn't bother her as much as the fact that an overwhelming sorrow welled up inside of her because it wasn't real. Her legs trembled against the cold as she stripped the sheets away. Ginny searched for confirmation that she had really shared this bed; a chestnut brown hair, still damp with lake water or a discarded wet gold and red scarf.

Everything was just where it had been the night before. Ginny cursed to herself as she drew the sheets over her body and made plans to hide in this room for the day.


	4. The Punchline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry asks Ginny to the Holiday dance.

Ron stirred at a rapidly cooling bowl of porridge in front of him as he avoided the eyes of everyone else at the table. He was on the end of the small group of those whom had stayed behind for the holiday. He hadn't answered them and every few moments Hermione could hear him mutter. "I think I'm going to be sick," he said.

The meal was quiet for the most part before Dumbledore stood up from the table and wrapped on his goblet to call them all to attention. "I have been given some exciting news for those who are here with us over the holiday. Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks has told me that the people of Hogsmead are holding a holiday dance and would like to invite any students and staff left here over the holidays to attend…" he said.

A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. "I'm sorry, Headmaster, but why does staff stay on campus…it seems some of them go home and some…"

"Ah, yes, well many of us consider the people working right here to be family, others simply can't make it home or have no other home to go to—this festivity is meant to provide a little slice of hospitality that staying cooped up in the castle alone all day would not," Dumbledore continued.

"Who could care about a dance at a time like this, my sister's kissing girls," Ron grumbled under his breath causing Hermione stared at him, narrowing her eyes.

"Are—are we required to go to the dance?" asked Ginny as Dumbledore sat down.

"Well I would hope you'd find something fun to do while there," he told her.

Draco was seated right across the table from Hermione and leaned in closer to speak to her in a quiet voice. "So are you and your new girlfriend going to be attending the dance?" he asked.

"Stuff it Draco," Ron grumbled.

Dumbledore took his seat at the table again, smiling over at the others gathered. The rest of the meal passed with Harry trying his best to strike up conversation, only Hermione seemed to be responding. Ginny excused herself before the meal had ended and left the Great Hall. When breakfast was over Hermione, Ron and Harry made their way out into the corridor of the school.

"You mind helping me what that Potion's essay?" Harry asked Hermione.

"If by helping you, you mean writing it…then no, but I will actually help," she answered.

Harry cracked a slight smile. "Thanks," he said.

"Look, I need you to do me a favor," Hermione said. She grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him away from Ron. "Ron, can you meet us back in the common room, I need to speak to Harry in private…"

"Ah, I get it," Ron as he looked between the incredulously. "Plotting something else involving my sister?"

"Ron, just…meet us back in the common room," Hermione chided him. When he was gone she led Harry out toward the greenhouses on the way to Hagrid's hut.

As they continued to walk, Harry turned to her. "What do you want to ask me?"

"Harry, I need you to…to ask Ginny to that dance," Hermione said.

"Ask Ginny?" Harry said as if he was surprised by that name.

Hermione grimaced. "Come on, she's a beautiful girl and she really used to like you—I just think it will help her feel better," she said.

"You just want Ron to have a stroke, it sounds like," said Harry.

"I'm not paying Ron much mind, his sister has a right to kiss whomever she wants," said Hermione. "I'm just worried about her, this is my fault and I think…I think she's really upset over it."

"Draco wants you all to kiss in front of the school?" Harry said. "Even if you kiss in front of just a small group, it will still get out," he said.

"Tell me about it," Hermione said. "I just heard a rumor from Ginny about something Pansy did in private over break."

This piqued Harry's interest. "What was it?"

"Pansy was limping so much at the start of term because she apparently tried to use some broomstick as…to…pleasure herself…and it injured her," said Hermione as her cheeks reddened.

Harry's eyes were wide. "Wow," he said.

"Wait…that's it."

"What's it?"

"What Ginny said about Draco—he must not be doing something right for Pansy—what if she's right? We might have something to use to embarrass him," Hermione said.

"Aren't you usually the one who tells me not to come up with harebrained schemes?" Harry asked.

"That's because your harebrained schemes don't usually involve any part of your brain."

"Well, at least tell me what you're planning," Harry said.

Hermione shook her head. "I can't I'm working through it all, but I will let you know and let you in on it at the dance…if you ask Ginny if you can take her," she said. "Come on Harry, it's just as friends!"

"I'll do it, but you have to promise to keep Ron from pummeling me," he said.

"I'll be asking Ron, just trust me in this, please," Hermione said.

* * *

 

Once again Ginny found herself anxious at the sound of footfalls in the corridor. She peeked over the ruffled top of the covers and waited for Hermione's figure to appear in the doorway, but it never did. Instead a masculine silhouette filled the doorframe and she recognized the haphazardly styled hair as Harry's.

"Hey Ginny," he said. "I just came to…well Hermione told me you'd be in here." At the mention of Hermione's name, her mind took flight.

How did she know I was in here?

Was I worrying her with my behavior?

"Did you come to…see me about something?" Ginny asked. He nodded. "How did you get past the charms?"

Harry smiled and picked up her wand from the bedside. "Well I tried dressing in drag and just walking up…but they were too well done for that. I ended up using a broom to follow Hermione up really fast, I'm good at flying in tight spaces."

Ginny wasn't sure if the comment was meant to come out a vaguely sexual, but it struck her that way. "Oh, I see," she said glancing away.

With his wand held aloft, Harry spoke again. "I wanted to come and ask you if you wanted come with me to that Christmas Dance in Hogsmead?" he held the wand out. "Orchideous!" he said and flowers erupted from her wand. He lay the bouquet down in her lap. "For you, of course…"

"Harry, this is…just really sweet, but I don't know if I can with all that's happened," said Ginny.

"I wouldn't feel right knowing you're up here alone in this room on Christmas Eve, and neither would Hermione…and if you stay up here and don't go well then I'm sorry Ginny but I'm going to have to tell your mum," Harry said.

She laughed. "You're joking, right? You've just threatened to tell my mum on me!" she grabbed her pillow and hit him in the face with it. He held his hands up to block the assault. "What if I told your mum you snuck around under that cloak still or that you had been snogging Cho in the back of Lupin's class like that," Ginny said. "I might even tell her that you walk around with your hair half-arsed all of the time!"

Harry shook his head, chuckling back. "Please don't, I told her I'd been styling it…" Now Ginny was laughing so hard that she seemed to be unable to breath. "You want to hear something really funny?" asked Harry. "I think Professor Snape has a crush on my mum," Harry pointed to himself. "My mum!"

"I don't think he's ever had a crush on a girl, ever," Ginny said after she burst out laughing.

"I'm serious, when she came to visit once he seemed all polite to her!" Harry said.

"You're imagining things. Oh did Hermione tell you that we caught him in the girl's loo the other day?"

"What's he doing there? Spying on female students…it'd explain why he keeps his hair like that," Harry said holding his hands up on either side of his face as if to indicate curtains of hair. Her laughter continued and then there was a short lull in the conversation. Harry took her by the arm. "Ginny, as a friend will you please come with us. I know this bet has you upset, I'm sure it would upset me too if I had to…kiss Ron or something," he said the last part slowly as if the words were too disgusting to utter.

"I know and I think I'd love to come," Ginny said.

Harry stood up. "Good then," he said with a smile and he turned to walk away.

"Thanks for making me laugh, you're always so good at it," she said.

"Oh, you're welcome, Ginny."

"I was having sort of a rotten day," Ginny stood up from the bed. "You helped a lot and just…don't take this the wrong way…" she wrapped her hands around his waist.

"Wait, what?"

Ginny knocked Harry back against the wall, pinning him and kissed him roughly. His mouth was open in shock and defenseless to stop her tongue from invading and he made a muffled sound as if to cry out. The kiss lasted only a moment and when Ginny stepped back she looked cross. "I'm sorry…Harry!"

It was too late, he bolted from the room and was gone off around the corner. She sat down on the bed. "Shit," she muttered. Through the fear and shock of Harry's kiss, she didn't sense that connection the way she did with Hermione and when it was over all she could think about was how much she wanted to talk to Hermione about how it felt and what she had dreamed.

I want to do what I dreamed, with her.

All she could find herself doing, was looking forward to the second kiss, thinking of Hermione and thinking of what Hermione thought about all of this. But the second that she considered going to ask her, that fear of what might have happened crept back in and she thought it better if she just remained in her dorm this time.

* * *

 

When Harry reached the common room, Hermione and Ron were sitting up working on an essay. Harry's steps were stiff, his face frozen in horror and his eyes locked straight ahead. He was paying so little attention that he forgot about the charms cast on the stairs leading to the girl's dorm.

"Harry, look out!" Hermione screamed a second too late. The stairs flattened into a slide and Harry tumbled down crashing into the floor at the bottom. Hermione ran to help him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged Hermione's help off. "Oi, that's enough from you, Hermione," Harry said.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"You know what you did! I hope you're happy now," Harry said. "You told me to ask her," he added.

"Ask what? What did you ask my sister?" Ron asked.

"Quiet, Ron," Hermione said. "Harry, it will cheer her up, if you upset her you probably did it wrong…"

"I didn't do it wrong, Ron's little sister tried to kiss-rape me or something!" Harry said. "Then she looked cross about it!"

"My sister?" Ron sprung up from the seat and darted up to Harry, drew back his fast and punched Harry hard across the jaw sending him collapsing back to the ground. Harry crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud.

"My God!" Hermione cried.

"That's for my sister!" Ron screamed, lording over Harry.


	5. The Night of The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cast attends the dance in Hogsmead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally two chapters that I broke in half because I wanted something to post while I wrote the other. I went ahead and recombined them. Also, because Myrtle is dead still but no one has heard of Voldemort, we can assume that he was caught. This also means that Hagrid would have graduated from Hogwarts. I just found the prospect of these changes to be interesting enough to mention here, this chapter really needs no introduction I think though

When Ginny ventured out into the common room around noon the next day she found Harry and Hermione sitting over their books and parchments. She slowly descended the stairs and cleared her throat.

"Oh…Harry, what happened to your eye?" Ginny asked, her face turning as scarlet as her scarf.

"Your brother punched me, actually," he said not looking up.

"I see. Look this is my fault and I'm sorry for what happened yesterday—you were just trying to cheer me up, I get it," she pulled out her wand and approached him. Ginny grabbed him by the face. "Hold still now, it might sting a bit. Episkey!" she tapped the wand lightly on the spot just below his eye.

The darkened skin of the contusion began to change back and clear up until it was completely normal again. "Thanks, really…" Harry said.

"I'd like it if you took me though," Ginny said.

Hermione laughed. "It looks like you'll be taking two dates, Ron's pissed that I asked you to ask Ginny and he's acting like a spoiled child about it," she said.

"I guess I can't complain about having two beautiful girls hanging off of me for the night," Harry gave dopey smile.

"I'm sure you would," Ginny sniggered.

Harry rose from his seat and ruffled his hair back from his forehead slightly with a slight laugh. "Yeah."

"Where are you going?" asked Hermione.

"Eh—I have to go drop a few memories in the pensive," Harry said with a sly smile spreading over his lips and he left out of the porthole.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What's he mean?" asked Ginny.

"He's using crude language for going to the bathroom. We ought to make him go without us just for that…I swear sometimes I wonder why we even need men," Hermione said.

"I've kind of been thinking the same thing," Ginny mused.

Hermione flipped her book closed and glanced around. "I don't want to be around when your brother stalks out here all grumpy to get on my case, what do you say we go shopping—we can get dresses for the dance?" she asked.

"I don't have anything to dress up in," Ginny said. "I guess it would be a good idea to go around and pick something up.

They left straight away and headed for Hogsmead, it was the only place within one hundred miles that was worth doing any shopping. The path from the school that led around the now frozen lake was vacant. The snow crunched underfoot as they walked and a ball of fire conjured by Hermione kept them warm.

Ginny turned to her with a worried look. "Do you think Harry will get over what I did?"

Hermione sighed. "I think he reacted like that to avoid Ron being mad, but it backfired," she said.

"He probably thinks of me as some child…it's not every day that a friend attacks you, pins you to a wall and kisses you," she said.

"You pinned him down?" Hermione asked.

Ginny smiled nervously. "I think it was mostly that I took him by surprise," she admitted.

"He claims to have liked it, you just frightened him. I'm not sure I get it exactly." Hermione laughed.

There was a rush tiny feet and panting breaths and the next thing that Ginny knew she was knocked back to the ground against the snow bank. A large black dog stood on her, paws on her arms to hold her in place and licked at her face. She let out a giggle, but held her hands up in protest.

"You scared us," Hermione said.

"Get off! You're too heavy," Ginny cried through her bouts of giggles.

The dog reared up, letting out a sound that was too similar to a snicker. Its body reshaped and elongated, the snout shortened and the hair receded until it was just a dark mane draping down over the shoulders of the man that stood before Ginny. Her brown eyes traced their way up his body and she grimaced. "Sirius, if my mum knew you had just done that…" Ginny started.

Sirius Black offered his hand to her, helping her back to her feet. "If your mum looked half as good as either one of you ladies, maybe she'd have lads trying to lick her face," he said flashing a devilish smile.

"You only ever do that to me," Ginny said, rubbing her back of her sleeve over the spots that he'd licked.

Sirius nodded. "I know, it's because Hermione kind of scares me and she's faster with her wand," he joked.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" asked Hermione.

"Well Lily wanted me to come see Harry for Christmas, she figured that since I wasn't her or James he might let me stay—I think she's scared he's taking this being a man thing a little too serious," Sirius said. He threw his hand on top of Ginny's head and tussled her hair. "Wait till I tell Lily that little Ginny Weasley pinned Harry to a wall and kissed him…"

Ginny's eyes flared. "How did you—you wouldn't!"

Sirius pointed to his ear. "Dog hearing…and I would, but I won't. Now it seems something else is troubling you two, may I be of assistance?"

Hermione looked to Ginny as if to ask permission and Ginny nodded in turn. "Well, we had a slight issue come up," Hermione started. "You see, Draco Malfoy…"

"Malfoy? That little bloody plonker? He still giving you trouble for being Muggle-born?" Sirius asked.

"Well, he does throw around 'Mud-blood' like it's a declarative sentence," Hermione said. "But that's not the issue now; he kind of tricked me and Ginny into a bet using some magical parchment…"

"Magical bets are dangerous things, what did he get you to wager?" asked Sirius.

Ginny's face went red. "Well…"

"We were supposed to be wagering slaps…but the contract changed itself and it ended up being a trick—win or lose, he got me and Ginny to kiss…" Hermione said.

Sirius slapped a hand to his face. "Did anyone see?"

Shrinking back, Ginny nodded. "Malfoy was there, and Harry…"

"Harry saw!" Sirius screamed. "Merlin's beard, what did James teach the boy?"

"Dumbledore said that we had to do it or die…" Hermione began.

"Dumbledore didn't see, did he?" asked Sirius frantically. "Hm, he'd have no reason to want to, that'd be a bit of a waste," he put his hand to his face in thought and muttered.

"…Harry couldn't have stopped it though; it's not his fault…" Hermione continued.

Sirius laughed. "Stopped it? Why the bloody hell would he want to do a stupid thing like that? Girls, do you realize there's a spell meant to send up a great giant symbol just to call other Wizards to the site of a Witch-on-Witch kiss?"

"Wait…what?" Ginny asked.

"A momentous event like that could get Snivellus and James to show up in the same place and not fight…like two respectable men…it's a very rare occasion. Harry could have at least had the decency to sling a Patronus my way or something…I've got to have a talk with James," said Sirius.

Ginny let out a disgusted grunt. "Aren't you like, forty or something? You're old enough to be our father…"

"Ah, but it doesn't matter unless I actually am your father…" Sirius explained. "…or some other close blood relative…" he trailed off. "Look the point is, if this is going to happen again you shouldn't let it go to waste!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's going to happen two more times, but I'm not going to whore myself out anymore than I have to just because Sirius Black says…"

"It's Unwritten Wizarding Law!"

"Then show me where it's written," Hermione demanded.

"I said it's unwritten!" Sirius protested kicking at the snow bank. "Look, can I at least be privy to the next one?"

Ginny folded her arms. "They're at Malfoy's discretion; want us to have him send you an owl?"

"That would be nice actually. By the way, where are you two headed in town?" he asked.

"To get dresses," Hermione answered without looking at him.

Sirius smiled. "Let me buy your dresses to make up for my inappropriate comments…planning to go to the dance in town I take it?"

"Harry's taking us," Ginny said.

"Why does Harry get everything handed to him on a silver platter? You'd think the boy saved the world or something," Sirius said as he followed behind.

* * *

 

Christmas Eve came in a fashion that seemed too quick and before Hermione had time to drink it all in, it was night fall and she was walking with Harry and Ginny down to the dance in Hogsmead. It was jarring to Hermione how much Harry resembled his father when he slicked his hair back and actually bothered to style it.

She and Ginny had harped on him until he was forced to do something other than rub it wildly in the mirror. Hermione could tell that he liked that Devil-may-care look and it was what some of the other girls in the class liked about him. It bothered her to admit it, but he did look handsome. But when Hermione had seen Ginny, she'd been unable to even comment.

Sirius must have helped her pick the dress. It was simple, the kind of thing a man would like. Green and strapless with a low-cut neckline, a red bow adorned the front between the breasts. And it fell just above the knee in length.

Hermione had declined Sirius's help, thinking it was just a little bit creepy. She went with a red dress, red was always good on her. Though as they walked, she couldn't keep her eyes off of Ginny and how amazing she looked. The thought of what had happened just days ago on top of the Astronomy Tower flooded back to her.

"Looks like this is the place," Harry said pointing to a tent with music and shouts of joy streaming out from it.

Sticking out her elbow for Harry to catch hold, Hermione smiled. "Shall we?" she asked.

Harry took both she and Ginny by the hands, ignoring the elbow and smiled. "Yeah, let's go."

The dance was being held on the outskirts of town next to an old farmhouse, the tent that protected them from the elements must have had decent heating charms because it wasn't cold inside in the least. There was Butterbeer aplenty and even some Firewhiskey and after a few drinks Harry, Hermione and Ginny were dancing together.

For the first time in days, Hermione felt comfortable and happy. She thought it might have been an effect of the Butterbeer but hoped it was because of the good company. Professor Lupin and a woman he introduced as simply Tonks chatted at length with Ginny and Harry while she was off grabbing more drinks.

It was then that Sirius wrapped on her shoulder from behind. When she turned he gave a short bow in the most cordial manner and spoke over the sound of the music. "May I have this dance, ma'am?"

Hermione took him by the hand and was led out to the floor. It was unexpected when he pulled her close and molded his hand to the curve of her hip. After a few moments moving in short steps around near the edge of the dance floor he leaned closer. "Why didn't you mention to Harry what I said?" he asked.

"I didn't want confirmation that he only watched us kiss out of perverted curiosity," Hermione said. "His lie was nice, I'd like you keep it that way."

"And what of you and Ginevra?" asked Sirius.

"What about us?" she asked.

"Come now, Hermione. You're not the eleven year old girl I saw getting on the Hogwarts Express with Harry…you're a woman now, talk to me like one and stop hiding behind childish ignorance…"

"I'm not hiding anything, I don't know what you mean."

"Does Ginny know how you feel? I saw the way you were looking at her…you've been looking at her since you came in here. She's a beautiful girl—did it start before the kiss?"

"I have to go," Hermione said pulling away from him.

"Hermione! Hermione wait!" Sirius called after her.

She dashed through the crowds of people, pushing waves of people and robes and dresses. Her skin burned with that edge of inebriation heat as she broke into the field next to the tent. She was running now, stepping high to avoid catching her heels on something. It was hard to see through the tears welling up under her eyes and with the Butterbeer and Firewhiskey clouding her senses.

As the tent grew further behind her, the sound the wind rattling the frigid branches became the prevailing sound. It was so dark and though she couldn't quite feel it, cold. Reaching down the front of her dress she pulled her wand out and whispered the incantation. "Lumos," brilliant blue light ignited the tip of her wand.

The barn wasn't far now, she could hide in there. Hiding seemed a stupid thing to do, but she just didn't want to be in there where she could see Ginny…was it that obvious? Had she been fooling Harry and Ron? Had she been able to fool Ginny?

A dusty, stagnant grass smell was overpowered her as she the barn doors open with a flourish of her wand. Hermione pushed on around the first stall and fell to rest in a lump of hay. She lay against the ground angry at Sirius for figuring her out and more angry at herself. What was she to say to Ginny? What would Ginny think if she said anything?

"Hermione?" the voice broke through the cold night air and almost made her shriek. "Hermione, I know you're here, I saw your wand light…" Ginny's footsteps crunched the hay as she neared. Hermione couldn't see her, but the floral aroma of shampoo or soap alerted her to Ginny's close proximity.

"Ginny, I'm sorry," Hermione's voice was muffled against her arm.

She could feel Ginny drop to her knees beside her. "Why are you sorry?" she asked.

"It's this…this stupid bet…it's just that when we kissed it…" Hermione sniffled and picked herself up. "…well it…"

Ginny's lips slammed into hers, pressing her back firmly into the hay. Her heart thundered against her ribs and she felt if it picked up anymore speed she might die. Hermione's hand was froze in midair where it had been before the kiss and she brought it down to the side of Ginny's face to cradle her chin.

They parted momentarily with Ginny sucking at her lips and then they were pressed together again. This time Ginny was over her, their legs tangled and their heads twisting side to side. Hermione's lit wand rolled under the stall so that most of the light was gone and she could barely make out Ginny's eyes when they moved apart.

"We could talk about this more…in the dorms…" Ginny said.

"What about Harry and Sirius…" Hermione started.

"Let's go back," Ginny said kissing her again; Hermione wasn't sure what to think now that the moment had passed. She wanted more, she wanted to be kissing again but each moment they weren't brought with it that cold, hard reality. She didn't want to be apart.

"We can go back, if you'll dance with me," Hermione said quickly.

Ginny's hands were more ambitious in the darkness and Hermione could feel them searching for her hand, feeling around in all of what would have been the wrong places. "Alright, I'll dance with you," she said finally taking Hermione by the hand.

Gathering Hermione's wand, they walked to the dance hand and hand.

* * *

 

By the time they were back at the dance tent Harry was nowhere to be found. Professor Lupin was standing with Sirius near the door talking; the blue haired Tonks girl was with them. Ginny gave them a short wave as she passed with Hermione.

Lupin gave a little nod. Sirius stepped forward and winked. "You ladies figure things out?" he asked picking bit of hay out of Hermione's hair with a smile.

"Not honestly," Hermione said, but then she smiled and they took the dance floor. With an improvised style that they created silently on the spot the pair whirled about the tent-ballroom. Perhaps everyone was looking at them, or perhaps it was just Lupin, Tonks and Sirius; but it didn't matter either way. Ginny nestled her face into the curve where Hermione's shoulder and neck met.

They danced through the lulls in the songs, and despite the lack of distance between them, Hermione refrained from kissing her. But the thought was a constant, nagging thing and she wondered why it felt so wrong to take the chance. Press her against one of the rickety banquet tables and pin her down, the way Ginny had done her in the barn.

At the end of the night they walked back to Hogwarts together, stumbling through a Firewhiskey induced disorientation. Lupin, Tonks and Sirius could be heard behind them in the distance walking the trek around the lake. Ginny spoke only in slurred whispers that were barely audible over the crunch of the snow. "I think that… I think…" the bottle of Firewhiskey clutched in Ginny's hand sloshed about as she walked. "…I think we've had too much…" she said finally.

Hermione cracked a smile, her eyes glazed over with slight inebriation. "I think you've had too much," she corrected her.

"It feels like…a long way…should have brought brooms," Ginny grumbled.

"Even you couldn't fly like this, Ginevra Weasley," Hermione said.

Most of the walk along the edge of the darkened Forbidden Forest was silent with the exception of Hagrid talking to Fang in his hut. As they climbed into the corridor of the castle their heels echoed through what have been the most silent Hogwarts had ever been. There were no signs of Professors patrolling the halls or Filch and Miss Norris. The school seemed deserted.

Things stayed the same all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. "Where do you think Harry is?" Ginny asked slowly, concentrating on each word coming out right.

"Not sure," Hermione said. "Lilac," she spoke the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady and the port hole swung open.

The girl's dorms were dark and the air seemed vacant of the usual smells of perfumes and soaps, most of the students had been gone for days. They felt their way through the darkness and Ginny lurched against the wall breathing heavily. "Oh shit," she said.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

Ginny pushed Hermione hard in the shoulder and sprinted the hall, she'd gotten no more than six doors down when she slid to a stop on her knees and vomited in the middle of the corridor. Her gags were punctuated by tortured sobs. "Sorry, God…I'm…knackered…" she suspended herself above the marble floor hacking for a moment.

Hermione ran to her and lifted the bottle of Firewhiskey that was rolling back and forth on the floor. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I just need to lay down," Ginny said.

Drawing the wand out of her cleavage Hermione nodded. "Let's get you all cleaned up first," she supported Ginny with one hand as she whipped the wand around through the air. "Tergeo!" the vomit was pulled from around her face and hair. She was helping Ginny to her feet when a small figure dressed in a smock appeared behind her.

"No worry, Sonny will clean up the mess," came the shrill little voice of a House Elf. And before Hermione could protest, the mess was gone as was the Elf.

She walked Ginny back to the dorm room and laid her down against the bed. "We need to get you out of that dress, just in case…" Hermione said as she helped Ginny free of the dress. It was hard to not concentrate on the her skin beneath the dress or how the freckles that would show up in the most unexpected places. Ginny was slick with cold sweat. Guilt bubbled up inside Hermione's chest at the thought of what could happen.

But Ginny was well past drunk and she was rounding the corner back into soberness.

"I could conjure you some water if you…" Hermione started.

The sound of Ginny's breathing alerted her she was sleep. Taking the dustbin from beside the door she placed it on Ginny's bedside and conjured the water into a pitcher for her anyway. With the Firewhiskey in hand, she made her way back to her own room.

Hermione didn't even realize she carried the nearly full bottle until she reached the door of her room and its weight seemed to beckon her. She held the bottle up to better see it in the moonlight and in the stillness of her concentration she could hear shallow breaths somewhere in the room. Tossing the bottle to a nearby bed, she clutched her wand through her dress.

"Who—who's there?" she called into the darkness.

"I could tell it was your bed because of all the books," Harry's slurred words wafted through the air.

Hermione retrieved the bottle. "Harry…what are you doing here? I thought you were upset or something…"

"I just needed to think. You know about the thinking, right?" Harry said.

She neared her bed and tugged her wand out, illuminating it. "I see you've got your own bottle," she pointed to a liquor bottle on her bedside table. Hermione took a seat on the bed next to him.

Harry nodded. "I couldn't carry much Butterbeer, but the real thinking is done with Firewhiskey. It burns like penance," he said.

"Did Sirius tell you that?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah."

"Sounds like something he'd say," she uncorked the bottle and took a sip from it. "I think in light of things I could use a little penance right now," Hermione admitted.

Harry shook his head. "You're brilliant, haven't got a bad bone in your body—always steering me and Ron straight," he said.

"I try, but…"

"Hermione you're lovely," Harry hugged his arms around her. The astringent smell of liquor on his breath was overpowering at this distance. She took another drink.

"I'm sure Ron doesn't think so now."

"That git punched me over something I didn't do," Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's protective of Ginny, is all," she could feel the growing difficulty pronouncing words.

Harry pulled a Butterbeer from behind the bed and popped it open. "You want one?" he asked.

"This is why they put all those charms around the door, Harry Potter—you're a bad influence. I thought your mum was joking when she warned me," Hermione said.

"Warned you? What else did she say?" asked Harry.

"That you're extremely, unforgivably ticklish!" Hermione dove onto him knocking him back to the bed.

Harry fought to drink the rest of his Butterbeer as he protested. "No…stop it…I'm serious Hermione!" he dropped the empty bottle to the floor.

Hermione put the full extent of her weight down to hold Harry in place. He struggled up against her, playfully but seemed unable to best her combination of strength, tickles and weight. But his hand grazed the side of her body and she recoiled back into a spasm of laughter herself and collapsing on top of him.

They were silent now, her head resting against his chest with the dull rapid thud of his heart and his breathing the only sounds she heard for several moments. "Harry?" she said suddenly.

"What, Hermione?"

"How did it feel…when you kissed Ginny?" she asked.

"I told you. Confusing, but not bad…actually kind of good. She's a good kisser," Harry said thoughtfully. Hermione figured that he must have been really drunk or he wouldn't have said it.

"She is," she admitted.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"What are you asking about Ginny's kissing?" Harry said.

"Just, some things running through my mind," Hermione said picking her head up from his chest and looking down at him. There was this glazed look in his eyes and she knew what would happen next, it was unavoidable.

Harry pressed his lips to hers softly for a moment and then pulled back. "I thought you might have been wondering…how I kiss…"

"Yeah."

In a torrent of moment she was flipped onto her back on the bed, one leg dangling over the edge. Harry was over her kissing her again and she was resting her hand on his back, thinking how wrong it felt and just wrong.

He raked the neckline of her dress aside and his mouth was on her breast. Hermione's breaths were suddenly stifled and short. Each passing moment didn't mesh together; it was like quick edits or cuts in a movie.

Harry was kissing his way over her body haphazardly, picking his targets with what seemed light no discretion. An embarrassingly deep sigh escaped Hermione and she drew her hips up to meet his thigh. Harry's leg had driven and bunched the dress up around her waist and the thin fabric between them betrayed a warmth and wetness that Hermione would have wanted to hide.

But she plucked his glasses away and placed them on the bedside table. They were kissing again and this time he was nudging his knee up between her legs. Each rocking movement sent a spasmodic wave of tightening muscles up through her pelvis to spread and weaken like ripples on a pond.

She should have said: "Harry…this is a bad idea…" but she stayed silent. Thoughts and words and sounds seemed to mingle together.

She could feel him growing beneath his slacks and in between the excited gasps that followed in the wake of each spasm; she worked her hand in between them. He picked up speed, moving his hips to one side to fall more in line with her hand while keeping his knee nestled between her now clenched thighs.

With an exasperated sigh Harry came and it was over. His full weight collapsed into her. There was a slight wetness in her hand where Harry had been pressed and she just lay beneath him. Hermione didn't know what to say, though she couldn't even feel odd or nervous about it and before her mind cleared enough to feel anything. She fell asleep.

* * *

 

The parts of her body where she and Harry touched were the only warm places in the Christmas morning air. Hermione aimed her eyes down to see the messy mop of Harry's hair wedged between her breasts. She pounded on his shoulder with her fist.

"Harry, wake up!" she said in a quiet voice. "Harry…"

There were footsteps in the hallway, and that could only mean one person was coming. There were no other girls here for the holidays besides the two of them. Hermione tried to tug Harry off of her, but her muscles were sore and the contents of her head felt several sizes too large for their container.

"Miss Granger, we're taking Christmas Breakfast in the Great Hall and we have…" Professor McGonagall rounded the corner into the room with Ginny at her side. They froze in the doorway. "Granger and Potter! Up! Now!"

Ginny's expression twisted in horror and she darted from the room. Harry stirred finally. "Huh?" he grunted. As he picked his head up, Hermione struggled to draw her dress back together.

She cried out, ignoring Harry and where he had drooled on her chest and Professor McGonagall. "Ginny wait! Ginny, I can explain!"

"Potter! I told you up," McGonagall sent a streak of light from her wand that snapped Harry on the butt and made him roll off the bed and thud to the floor.

"Bloody Hell, who wakes someone up like that?" Harry lay on the side of the bed looking up between Hermione and McGonagall in confusion.

A cold, sneering voice came from somewhere down the hall. "What's going on in here," Severus Snape stepped into the door way with his cloak billowing behind him. Even in her state of panic Hermione noticed he had come from deeper in the girl's dorms. He walked to the side of the bed to stand over Harry and next to McGonagall.

His pale lips twisted into a smile. "Mister Potter…in the girls dormitories with an all too ravished looking Miss Granger, twenty points from Gryffindor…each," he said.

"What were you doing in here already?" spat Harry, he must have noticed it too. "You came from further up the corridor, didn't you, Snape?"

McGonagall turned to face Snape and he smiled. "I came in through the window for a contraband check, Potter. But it seems I should have been checking your dorms for what wasn't there. I will have to be sending an owl to Lily…it's been some time since we chatted. I'm sure she'd be interested to know what her son's been into…or should I say: who."

Without waiting for a reply, Snape turn and with a flutter of his cape behind him, left the room. Harry made a slight, disgusted sound before McGonagall dragged him up to his feet. "Potter, Granger, you're to proceed down to the Headmaster's Office this instant. I shall meet you there. You had better hope Dumbledore will be in a cheery Christmas mood!" with a stamp of her foot, Professor McGonagall transformed into a cat and skittered out of the room and off down the hall.


	6. The Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's fall out from Hermione and Harry's actions and a new danger lurks in the Forbidden Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combined two chapters again.

Ginny didn't want to stop or slow down for fear that she might have to look at Harry or Hermione again. She pulled the Christmas sweater her mother had sent on and then stacked her red and yellow Gryffindor one on over that. She threw the matching scarf around her neck and slipped into her Quidditch gloves.

She just needed to get out of the school, clear her head and get some fresh air. Everywhere she looked, in every bed, she could just picture writhing there…laughing at her. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

What had happened last night? I thought she and I were…

Pushing the thoughts from head Ginny grabbed her Nimbus 2000 and turned to head out of the door.

No, they might run into me that way.

Pulling the goggles down over her brown eyes and raking the red tendrils of hair out from under them, she took a deep breath and tried to think of a way out that didn't involve running into anyone. Ginny glanced to the window and sighed. "Reducto!" she said swinging her wand at the window.

The resulting curse must have been affected by her anger because an entire chunk of the wall burst away. She shook her head silently and tucked the wand back into belt. Getting a running start she mounted the broom and tumbled from the castle tower, kicking the ledge to propel her away from the wall.

With a shudder the broomstick kicked to life and she pulled away from the wall to swing out over out around the school. When she glanced back she could see a figure that looked to be Snape running to the edge of the castle where the hole was. It almost seemed like she could hear him yell. "Ten points, Miss Weasley."

She circled the school one quick time and passed over the edge of the Forbidden Forest on her way back to the lake. The chilled air whipped through her hair and flakes of snow stuck to her goggles momentarily before falling away. Even with the two sweaters she could feel the wind biting at her skin and normally she would have headed back in but she didn't want to be in the castle right now.

She didn't want to be in the castle ever again.

The Nimbus sputtered as she rounded the Quidditch pitch. Ginny glanced down and she could almost see the day that she had watched Hermione score those goals. In all honesty she had been trying to stop them, at least to some degree. She had underestimated Hermione…

_…and it seems after what she and Harry did, you never really knew her at all…_

She headed north over the rocky hills and swooped out to pass the castle again, Hogwarts stood snow covered in the distance. As she stared back toward the school her vision blurred. Ginny rubbed her hand up under her goggles to wipe the tears way and the cold stung her face until it actually iced over on her skin.

_What's wrong with me, I'm so stupid to think that Hermione and I could have been anything._

She was passing the lake when the tears came full stream and she was forced to pull the goggles all the way up onto her head. Ginny rubbed the sleeve of her sweater across her face and sniffled. Voices of people she knew and her own voice assaulted her from inside her head now.

 _"Hermione chose me because you were just so utterly terrible and pathetic to her she couldn't bear to deal with it,"_ came Harry.

 _"If I wanted a relationship, not a charge I was forced to look after,"_ Hermione said.

 _"You've been nothing but a rotten, ungrateful daughter since the start, Ginevra,"_ her mother's voice echoed inside her head.

Ron scoffed. _"You're an evil bitch of a little sister and a slag to boot, way to do the family proud,"_ he said.

The voices muffled together and more flooded into her head, joining the chorus.

 _"I've never been so disappointed by a student in my house,"_ said McGonagall.

 _"…the most disgraceful pupil to enter these doors since Tom Riddle…"_ came Dumbledore's voice weaving itself into the others.

 _"And you call yourself pure-blood…it's no wonder the hat saw fit to sort you into another house…"_ Snape said.

The air was like daggers now and she felt too heavy to keep the broom aimed correctly. She shuddered, her eyes burning with tears and when she glanced back to see the school in the distance she saw something else.

Wretched black forms with ragged cloaks were gaining on her with boney, black skinned hands outstretched for her. Ginny stifled her next sob and banked hard to the right, she would need to gain ground on them before she could land because they'd over take her on the ground. She passed the side of the tower where she'd left, but Snape must have repaired it.

Straightening herself on the broom, Ginny pulled the goggles down. The voices still burned and taunted inside her head. "Shut up!" she screamed.

Those creatures, it has to be then. It just has to. Dementors.

She had heard tell of them and she couldn't be sure, this sounded like what she had been told about the things.

Clutching the broom tight with one hand she grabbed for her wand with the other and spun back to fire a spell. "Stupefy!" Ginny sent a jet of red light back into the black figures. But they didn't seem to react in the least. She leaned the broomstick forward to pick up speed now, going into a dive.

Maybe I can feint them…make them crash.

She went into a rotating dive toward the iced over lake and pulled up so late that her foot hit the ice surface. The pain rocketed up her leg and she fought to control the book and keep herself steady on it.

Each movement of the broom hurt her foot now. The creatures were still following her and too close for her to attempt to land. She didn't want to lead them to Hogsmead but she definitely didn't want them to catch her.

…the Forbidden Forest!

Banking left and then right she worked her way toward the forest line across the lake, in the thick trees they would have to slow down and dodge the huge trunks. It was a risk but if she could escape the woods and head for the Astronomy Tower or Owlery she would have time to get in doors before they could gain on her. That's if her legs cooperated.

Ginny hit the tree line and branches snapped and slapped at her as she passed through them. She raised her wand at a tree as she passed. "Reducto!" the tree snapped at the base and fell to the side blocking the path she had taken. Behind her the cloaked flying creatures moved to go around the downed trunk.

She wove around another trunk quickly and whipped her wand at the underbrush. "Waddiwasi!" the sticks and debris on the forest floor flipped up into the air to obscure the path. The figures were forced to decrease their speed.

Ginny fired a few more curses back to break the trees and even one to start a fire but they kept coming. Nothing seemed to faze them. She looked to her front and there was a flash of white as a powerful beast darted out in front of her and turned to run ahead of her. She pulled her Nimbus to the side to avoid the collision but the bristled end of the broom caught a tree and she was thrown to the ground.

Her wand skittered over the forest floor somewhere and the black hooded figures inched in toward her. The voices flooded back now, calling her a failure and taunting her. She tried to crawl for the wand but her foot burned with pain, it had to be broken.

There was the heavy steps of something large nearby. Ginny wrenched her neck up to see what appeared to be a huge white steed standing majestically at her side, its nostrils flared in the direction of the hooded figures. It must have been the same thing she saw dart out in front of her. And then she noticed the horn jutting from its forehead.

A unicorn.

The unicorn cast a comforting glance down at her and then it charged the cloaked creatures, breaking through their ranks. Obviously thinking they had found a better prey, they turned and chased after the unicorn until the galloping steps meshed into the other sounds of the forest.

Ginny fell onto her chest and dragged herself across the frosty ground toward her wand. She was soaked and her broom had broken on the impact. Repairing bones was a skill that she didn't feel comfortable even attempting on herself.

She glanced up at the sky, thankful for the unicorn. But she could still hear the voices and feel the cold prickle of those creatures on the back of her neck. The wind picked up, rattling through the skeletal tree branches and shaking snow loose, there appeared to be a storm blowing in.

* * *

Hermione and Harry shuffled into Dumbledore's office. It was her second time in recent memory setting foot in the Headmaster's office and the causes seemed to get worse and worse. She clasped her hands in her lap and hung her head as Dumbledore rose from his desk slowly and paced the back of his office.

His blue eyes passed over her and Harry and he nodded slightly. "I've been Headmaster here for quite some time, taught school here before that for many years too…I think that Professors Snape and McGonagall may have been a little strict about the warning they gave you both earlier.

"You're not children," he continued. "You're adults, at least by Wizarding standards. And you're almost adults even by Muggle cultural mores," Dumbledore nodded. "I've never made a habit of regulating the romantic habits of young people, but I trust that you both heard the charms and potions lessons on magical contraception, pregnancy and disease prevention.

Harry nodded, his face reddening.

"There was no sex…" Hermione's voice escaped before she could think to not say anything. Harry and Dumbledore stared at her. "Harry, tell him…"

"I don't remember anything after we got to the dance last night," he said.

Hermione shook her head. "Well, we didn't actually have sex, there was just…I don't know how to describe it…" she sighed. She did, but she couldn't while standing in front of the old Headmaster.

"Harry, my boy—you're dismissed, but I warn you don't make a habit of wandering into the girls dorms. Ask your father what happens when we catch someone at it too often," Dumbledore said in a stern, yet joking tone.

"Yes sir, but Hermione—" Harry started.

"I would like to talk to her alone," Dumbledore said. Harry left the room. When he was safely down out of earshot Dumbledore sighed. "My child, you have had a most impressive career here at Hogwarts," he said.

"Th-thank you sir," Hermione said with her head still down.

"Hold your head up, look me in the eye. A mistake is a mistake, but you shouldn't let it break you so easily," he said.

She lifted her head and felt the trail of tears rolling over her cheeks for the first time. "I'm sorry, I just feel like an idiot, I don't know what came over me…" she said.

Dumbledore nodded. "We've all been drunk with something, power, love, or just alcohol—it's an odd feeling to lose control."

"I think that I really like Ginny, Professor," she said suddenly.

"And what's the matter with that?" asked Dumbledore.

"It's not what I pictured, when I thought about me with someone. And then it feels wrong, because she's younger and because she's my friend's sister and because she's…"

"…female?" Dumbledore walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did you take my kissing comment the other day as a joke?"

Hermione looked up at him.

"Miss Granger, how many other Wizards do you know that walk around in purple satin robes covered in stars?" he smiled.

"I never really considered it…I guess," she said.

"Who you're in love with or who you're not has little bearing on how good a person you are," Dumbledore said. "You'll be the same person inside whether you love Ginny, or some other girl or boy. And no one's saying you have to choose one gender and stick to it the same way you don't have to choose a haircut…"

She was shocked that Dumbledore was discussing this with her and being so frank. "Sir, how did you know what was going on?"

"I went through this same thing once upon a time, if you truly want to salvage something with Ginny, you need to open up and talk to her. Don't be afraid to face the world down in pursuit of what you want especially if it's something that's your business alone."

Snape burst through the Headmasters door with Lupin behind him. "Sir, Professor Lupin has just informed the staff of an emergency situation," he held out a hand as if telling Lupin to speak.

"Dementors were spotted on the grounds. Loads of them," Lupin said.

"Tell the students to stay calm, Miss Granger report to the Great Hall at once and you are to remain there with Professor Snape…" Dumbledore said.

Snape held up a finger. "Sir, there is one more thing—Miss Ginvera Weasley was spotted flying around on her broom outside the school just before the sightings…" he said.

"There's no sign of her return?" asked Dumbledore with more speed in his movements now.

Snape shook his head.

"We've thought to organize into search parities of course the students will be required to stay in doors. Sirius Black and Molly and Arthur Weasley will definitely be able to help, they showed up this morning…." Lupin said.

"Search by broom will be near impossible with this storm," Snape said.

"You have to let Harry, Ron and I go out there its…" Hermione started.

"Students aren't allowed into the Forbidden Forest, which is more than likely where we'll need to search," Lupin said.

Hermione turned, yelling at him. "You think I don't know the rules. I only hear them at the start of every term. I don't give a damn, you've got to let us help search for her!"

"To the Great Hall, Miss Granger, we'll find her soon enough," Dumbledore said in a kind voice. "Snape, attend to the students in the Hall, while I help the search."

Snape nodded and took Hermione by the arm. "Come along, Granger."

* * *

Ron and Harry were sitting at the table with their brooms laid out in front of them. When Harry had been leaving the Headmaster's office, Ron had rounded the corner carrying the broom he had just gotten for Christmas and Harry's. Before they could go out and try them Lupin appeared and carted them both back to the Great Hall. He told them to wait with the rest of the students. He didn't explain what was going on, but Ginny and Hermione were missing.

"What do you think happened?" Ron asked.

Harry couldn't speak, he hadn't mentioned to Ron what had occurred last night and he didn't feel like it would be a good idea. He didn't want Ron hitting him again. They had been there a while when Hermione's voice broke through the air.

"Let me go! You can't hold me here, Dumbledore just said, I'm an adult!" Hermione screamed.

Harry and Ron sprang up to see Snape holding Hermione by the arm and trying to get her into the room. "Miss Granger, your hysterics are only going to make the need to take you by force all the more necessary," Snape's sneering voice said.

He let her go and Hermione stepped back and turned to Harry and Ron. "I won't stay in here!" Hermione screamed. All of the other students were staring at her.

"What's going on?" asked Harry.

"Nothing that concerns you, Potter," Snape said.

"Ginny's gone missing and there's Dementors on the ground," Hermione said.

There was a rush of panicked conversation from the rest of the students. Draco called out. "We're seventh years, can't we at least get a look at these things?"

"The Headmaster has said all students are to remain here in the Great Hall," Snape commanded. "Quiet down!"

Hermione started for the door. "You're going to just have to stop me by force, if you can, Professor."

With his wand held aloft, Snape twirled his wrist. "Stupefy!" he brought the wand down.

The red jet left the tip of his wand but Harry had dashed a short distance when Snape was pulling the wand and he swung his arm a moment too late.

"Protego!" Hermione said, though Harry couldn't see her wand he did see the shimmering spell shield that was erected between her and the curse. The energy rebounded off the shield and slammed into Snape throwing him over onto the ground.

"Harry," Hermione said, pulling her wand out of her sleeve where she had concealed it. "Grab Snape's wand, we're going to find Ginny. Can you get your brooms?"

Draco snickered at Snape. "There's a storm coming you won't have long to fly," he said. "But if you're going to find Dementors, I want to come…"

"No way Malfoy," said Ron.

"Piss off, Weasley, you're not the boss of me," Draco said.

"Whatever Draco, ride with Harry. Ron you take me, we need to move, NOW!" Hermione ordered.

Harry grimaced and glanced at the other students who sat silent, watching the spectacle. "If we go out there on brooms we might not be able to use them to get back…"

"Important part is getting to Ginny, getting back fast doesn't matter much," Hermione said.

"Don't they eat souls or something?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, but we don't need to face them, because the charm to repel them is near impossible to pull off—we just need to get her and get out."

"Blimey," started Ron. "If we get expelled and die trying to save Ginny, mum's going to squat down over my grave and shit on it."

"What do you care, you'll be dead, Weasel," Draco said chuckling.

* * *

Hermione gripped tight to Ron's waist as they sailed out over the castle ground. "She has to be in the Forbidden Forest," she said. "There's nowhere else to look."

Harry jostled Draco with his elbow. "How many times do I have to tell you," yelled Harry. "Watch your bloody hands!"

The wind was worse than she would have imagined, Hermione thought it wouldn't be possible to fly in this before they got into the air. Even then each gale force blast pushed the broom and caused them to rock on it. Ron glanced back. "Hold tight! I think we need to go lower over the trees."

"Be careful," Harry yelled.

They dipped lower over the trees as the snow picked up and the wind changed directions. "Do you smell smoke?" asked Draco.

"Over there, there's a fire," said Ron.

They turned into the wind picking up speed against it. But the brooms were slowing to a crawl in the face of the torrent of air. Harry slowed his broom to ride along side Ron and Hermione. "At this rate the wind will take us clean off these things, we need to land…"

"In the forest?" Draco asked.

"It's the only way," Harry said.

They slowed and dropped through the canopy of the forest, the ground was mostly obstructed by the snow covered branches. The growing darkness made the descent hard and they were forced to light their wands half way down. On the ground it was like night. The frigid air rattled through the trees causing the snow to fall from the trees.

"We need to go on foot for now," said Harry. "It'd be near impossible to maneuver with this weight through these trees…" he dismounted his broom swept his wand out in front of him.

"Which way was the smoke?" asked Hermione.

"To the north I think," Draco said.

Hermione nodded. "That's what I thought," she held her wand out on her palm. "Point me…" she said. The wand spun to point to the north and they all started through the woods with their wands up and lit.

And then they were running against what little remained of the wind at this level above the ground. The only sound Hermione could make out now was the rapid footfalls as they raced through t woods and their breaths drawing in the cold air. Dirty snow kicked up behind them

"The smoke is getting stronger," Draco said.

"We're getting close," Ron added between breaths.

* * *

In a distant part of the forest, Sirius transformed back to his human form. "I don't smell any sign of her…do Dementors have a scent? Well anyway, there's something else…that way…"

"I don't remember, I haven't seen a Dementor in a long while," said Lupin as they moved forward.

They moved over the snowed in underbrush and the tops of logs trying to pick up any scent or sign. There was a slight rise that took them up hill to an area framed by rocks Lupin was out front and Sirius followed behind him. At the top of the small hill they could see through the forest over into a clearing.

Several muscular men were standing near a frozen stream. They were streaked with dirt and looked fierce. In the middle of their group was a taller man with his chest stuck out in front of him and a primitive looking scowl on his face.

"Fenrir Greyback…what's he doing here?" asked Lupin.

"I thought Greyback was dead," Sirius whispered.

"Perhaps that was too much to hope for, we need to get away before the wind changes directions and they come over here and rip us to shreds," said Lupin.

"One thing worries me, I'm sure Harry, Hermione and Ron snuck out here to find Ginny…" Sirius said.

"We'll have to hope that they wouldn't come this way…how can you be so sure they did sneak out?"

"Wouldn't we have done the same?" Sirius asked.


	7. The First Memory That Comes To Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue effort continues.

The smoke smell was apparent as they crested the hill together, Ginny was slumped against the side of a tree with her wand drawn and her brown eyes flared wide open. "Who's there?" she called.

"Ginny, Ginny—it's us," said Ron charging toward her.

She lowered her wand. "Us?" she asked.

The figures with their lit wands emerged through the trees and started down the hill toward her. Ginny was sitting in front of a fire that she had built. Her scarf was wrapped about her leg and there was blood down her boot and up part of her pants leg. She winced as she moved and then spotted Harry and Hermione.

"Oh, you're here," Ginny said weakly.

"Ginny, we're really sorry, but we need to get you out of her fast!" Hermione said. The wind was picking up and snow was whipping around the forest and whirling up into the air.

"Did you bring Draco because you were sorry? So he could mock me more…" Ginny said.

Draco grimaced. "I'd mock you but it's not like I wished death on you—though I wouldn't have risked my neck if I wasn't getting to look at those Dementors…"

"So they were Dementors?" Ginny said. Ron and Harry tried to lift her but she screamed. "My leg, it's really bad, I think the bone is…sticking out," up close they could see her face was flushed and the lack of color made her freckles apparent in the wand light.

Hermione ran to Ginny's side. "She lost too much blood, I might be able to close this wound but…the bone... I can't set it," she said.

Stalking around the edges of the little area where they stood, Draco held his wand up high and surveyed the trees. "If she's bleeding so bad then it won't be much longer before the predators show up…they've no doubt smelled it already and this storm won't stop them.

With a sharp tug at Ginny's leg to sit it straight, Hermione prepared herself to start the spell. Ginny's cries of pain were distracting and she glanced over at Ginny's face glazed over and her head rolled to one side. Ron almost bowled Harry when he stepped in closer to Hermione. "You have to do something! She's going to pass out!"

"It's okay, Gin. It's okay," Hermione said rubbing back the red tendrils of hair with her hand still painted in Ginny's blood. She took a deep breath and held the wand down over the wound. "Episkey!" Hermione said.

Ginny let out a sharp cry and the bone could be heard scraping, trying to get back into place, but it wouldn't make it and in the end Hermione had just stopped the bleeding. Draco pushed through Harry and Ron and shoved Hermione aside.

"Out of the way, Mudblood—and you think you're so clever. We can't move someone with a broken leg like this. "Ferula!" a waxy liquid dripped from Draco's wand down onto Ginny's leg, wrapping around it and forming a tight splint. "There, now what?"

"There's something coming…" Ron said raising his wand. "Over there!" he pointed between the trees where a large beast was stalking through toward them through the woods. It raised its head and the horn mounted above its eyes seemed to catch a glimmer of light.

"A unicorn," Hermione said.

"It's hurt," Harry uttered. "Ron, Draco—stay back, they don't like men," he said.

Hermione stayed with Ginny as the other three backed down. She saw then what Harry had meant, its side was torn open and thick bluish-silver blood was spilling out. The unicorn brought its head down and nudged Ginny and then looked to Hermione. By this time Ginny was laying over on her side, passed out.

"I think I understand what it wants now…" Hermione started.

"Hermione, we've got a problem," Harry said.

Ron stepped back and glanced at Hermione and Ginny. "They're back."

Hermione rose up from the ground to glance out through the woods to see hood figures closing in on them with cloaks billowing out behind them.

"It wants me to take Ginny out of here on its back," Hermione said. "Someone help me get her onto it, you can follow on the brooms," she added.

Draco helped Hermione to get Ginny onto the horse. "If we go with you, there won't be time for any of us to get away…" Draco said.

"We'll hold them off, then," Ron said. "Go," he yelled.

Hermione climbed on back of the unicorn. "I'll have to break through their lines to get out," she said.

"Just worry about getting her back to Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Remember, the Patronus Charm is the only way to keep them off of you," said Hermione as she clutched her arms around Ginny to keep her on the unicorn's back. "Hurry after me!" she said as the creature burst into a gallop for the Dementors.

With her wand at the ready, Hermione whipped it down in an arcing motion and yelled the incantation. "Expecto Patronum!" a silky bluish wisp drifted from her wand and came to a stop between the Dementors. The unicorn dashed through as the Dementors while they were distracted and took a sharp turn to the east.

_I hope this thing knows where it's going._

Hermione glanced back at the gathering darkness around where Harry, Ron and Draco still were. The unicorn banked to one side and picked up speed, the powerful creature thundered between two trees, jumped another downed log and its breath stifled. At this rate it wouldn't last long. Hermione tried to heal it, but the magic wouldn't take.

If they didn't make it to the edge of the forest very soon, Ginny and the unicorn might die.

* * *

The Dementors were advancing rapidly, bringing the temperature around Harry, Draco and Ron lower. The frigid air seemed to crawl under their clothes, under their skin and through their veins. The world darkened as the cloaked forms fought through the storm winds to get at them. Raspy, whispered voices siphoned the feeling from them.

"You'll fail…"

"You'll die here…alone and scared…"

"Dead here and unloved."

"Hated."

Between the three of them, there was this sort of staggered order that left no lull between the cries of the incantation. "Expecto Patronum!" but their spells grew weaker and they were forced back to back in a tiny spot in the clearing near where Ginny's broom lay snapped in half.

"We're proper fucked," said Ron. "Expecto Patronum!"

Draco collapsed back against a tree. "Way to be positive, Weasley…Ex-expecto Patronum!"

Harry swept his wand side to side, looking for the closest target. "I just hope Ginny and Hermione got out of here…Expecto Patronum!"

Their casting of the spell formed a thin veil of energy around them, keeping most of the Dementors out. There were so many of the creatures and they fed off the entire shield within a moment of its casting forcing them to keep cycling through, all the while taking the mental assault the creatures unleashed in the small gap between the shielding.

Draco dropped to the ground, clawing at the snow to try and get up. He still managed to get his cast of the spell off. Harry could feel a deepening, burning regret and remorse in the pit of his chest. His heart felt as though gripped by an icy claw that was tightening its hold. Slowly, his back slumped against the tree and he continued to cast back and forth with Ron.

Now Draco was unable to get the words out, still attempting to make his timing, though he failed to do so. Harry's hand trembled and he summoned up the last bit of anything that he could grab onto inside of himself…

"Failures. All of you."

He raised his wand and glanced to Ron whom looked as though he couldn't move.

"Die here…alone…"

Harry swung his wrist back to cast. "Expecto—"

THOOM!

In a brilliant burst of cerulean light a spectral stag leapt down in front of Harry and stood majestically there while the Dementors recoiled back, their tar-black boney hands covering their eyeless faces.

Harry sat up straight as the stag stared down at him and thought that for sure he couldn't have…he hadn't said the incantation. He glanced to Draco and Ron who were slowly recovering, both of them staring at the bluish Patronus Avatar that stood before them.

Then, as if playing through some unseen recorder inside of the creature, it spoke. "We've got it, Harry…we're here," came the voice of Harry's dad.

Dementors scattered as a second blue Patronus creature slammed into the staggered Dementors, this one was a doe. The two of them cast enough light to cover the whole area and drive the Dementors off through the woods. All of the cold air was cast out Harry, Draco and Ron and suddenly the glow was gone, along with the Dementors.

Soft hair brushed against Harry's face and his vision snapped back into focus as someone hugged him. The overwhelming smell of perfume called him to attention. "Mum, what are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled down at him, framed in red hair. "We came to surprise you for Christmas, I guess it's a good thing too," she said.

"Some of the other students at the school said you went out to search for Ginny Weasley," said James Potter. "We took a chance on a broom and smelled the smoke—so we followed it here."

Lily glanced around. "Where is Ginny?"

"She and Hermione left together on a unicorn," Draco said. "I can't believe I'm saying that."

"Did you knock Snape out?" asked James.

"Hermione did," Ron said.

James started to laugh and Lily slugged him. "Don't laugh at that, it's not nice!" she chided.

"Okay, okay. We need to get back to the school though, this storm is only going to get worse," said James.

* * *

The forest was thinning as the unicorns gait became slower and its breathing suggested that each movement grew more onerous. Hermione held Ginny in place as she stroked the creature's mane.

Turning slightly, the unicorn made its way around a downed log instead of leaping over it. It stumbled slightly, righting itself at the last second. "Come on," she encouraged it. "Just a bit further…we can get you help there…" Hermione tried the healing spell one more time but there was still no result. She clutched Ginny tight as they made for the castle—not even sure that the unicorn knew the way to the castle.

She glanced around the woods and for a brief moment she though she saw someone shirtless and barefoot running through the woods. Though he was somewhat man, he clearly had something of an animal in him. His hair extending down into his beard so that his face was framed in fur. He paused, turned to look at her and then vanished out of sight behind a high ridge.

Prickles of cold plucked at the back of her neck and when she chanced a glance over her shoulder three Dementors were chasing after them with hands outstretched. She could feel the ice water bite in her veins and she summoned up a memory, the first happy memory that came to mind and spun around to cast.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she bellowed, leveling her wand back at the cluster of Dementors. With a thunderous explosion a huge otter burst from her wand-tip and pushed the Dementors off back through the forest.

The edge of the forest was in sight now, Hermione rubbed back Ginny's hair. "We're almost there, I'm so sorry I did this to you."

As they reached the fringe of the forest and emerged into the storm, the unicorn slowed to a stop and lowered his body so that Hermione could slide Ginny onto the ground. Hermione rubbed the creature's forehead. "Thank you," she said.

The unicorn rolled onto its side, exposing the gaping wound and spilling sprinkles of silver blood over the snow. With an exasperated breath it closed its eyes and ceased moving. Hermione held Ginny in her lap. "Help! Someone help!" she raised her wand to fire a signal jet of red light into the air.


	8. The New Year

Much to the dismay of Hermione, Professor Snape awoke on the in the bed across from Ginny's. He stirred lightly against the sheets and surveyed the group that was gathered in the infirmary wing. The Potters, Ron, his parents, Sirius and Lupin were all crowded around Ginny's bed. Draco was hanging back by the wall next to Snape's bed and he jumped when his house head came awake.

"Did you bring me here?" asked Snape looking at Draco.

Hermione whirled around. "No, he was with us—we're not sure who brought you here," she said.

"I would hope you'd have some humility because I'll see you expelled for this stunt, Granger," Snape spat.

"Try. Let's see how Dumbledore takes the fact that one of his professors was hit by his own spell…" Hermione said. She felt a hand at her shoulder steadying her and looked back. It was Lily Potter.

Lily crossed the room smiling lightly at Snape. "Please, just let it go Severus—no one was seriously hurt and they found Ginny," said Lily.

Equipped with a snide smile, Harry crossed the room and handed Snape's wand over. Snape settled back into the bed. Then he turned his anger toward Draco. "And why were you with them?" he asked.

Draco sighed. "Potter put his wand to my throat, made me come as insurance—you know how he is," he said.

"Indeed," quipped Snape.

Molly Weasley looked from Hermione to Ron and then to Harry. "Though I would hate to say it, Snape is right—you could have been killed. Going out into the Forbidden Forest in a storm to fight Dementors," she said her eyes changing slowly from stern to sorrowful.

"We saved Ginny," Ron protested.

"And it was my fault she was out there," Hermione lowered her head.

"How do you figure?" asked Arthur Weasley.

She said nothing.

"I think the poor girl is just sad given all the circumstances," said Sirius. "But I, for one think she did the right thing."

"My, it's as if you were vindicated by the Pope and the Dali Lama. Sirus Black, beacon of moral authority, ladies and gentlemen," Snape said.

Molly hugged Hermione. "Still, you were very brave," she said. "All of you were," she hugged Ron, then Harry, and even crossed the room to hug Draco who seemed reluctant to accept the affection. "Thank you."

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, entered through the doors behind with a tray filled with chocolates on them. "I'm going to need anyone who came in contact with the Dementors to eat one of these," she said.

Though the request seemed strange to Hermione, she accepted one and ate it. A chorus of thank yous went up as Pomfrey walked to Snape's bed and nodded to him. "You're free to go now, Professor," she said.

He gave a curt bow and swept from the room in a flurry of footsteps.

"Dinner is being served in the Great Hall, for anyone who'd like to head down there—I assure you I will send for you when the patient awakens," said Pomfrey.

The Potters and the Weasley's, minus Ron, started for the door. Hermione glanced back. "I want to stay," she said rubbing back Ginny's hair, "for when she wakes up."

Sirius rubbed her back. "Good on you, Granger. We'll be back after dinner," he said.

Lupin nodded to her as he passed.

"I think I should stay too," Harry added.

"Well I'm definitely not going anywhere," Ron looked around. "We'll take our dinner here or something."

Draco rose and left the room without saying anything.

"If you three want to stay here, we'll just tell Dumbledore to send your food up," James said.

"Thank you, but I heard the request James," came Dumbledore's voice as he entered the room. "I need to speak with these three for a moment. When the room cleared out, only Harry, Hermione, Ron and the sleeping Ginny were left. Dumbledore paced across in front of them. "What you did was most…heroic and yet it was extremely dangerous and you broke many major rules in the process…"

"We're sorry sir," Ron and Harry's voices chimed. This wasn't their first apology for rule breaking. But it might have been the worse by far. Hermione could think back on all of the times she had tried to stop them and they had gone on to get lectured. There had been their offensive invention of the Bra Breaker Curse or the numerous incidents where they had sneaked out to do different things around the school.

"I'm not," Hermione said. This time it was different, she had no reason to feel bad about her actions. "I never raised my wand at Professor Snape and I told you that it was my fault and I intended to help find Ginny," she said.

"Why does she keep saying it's her fault?" asked Ron.

Harry just hung his head.

"What happened?" asked Ron.

"Nothing, Ron!" screamed Hermione. "If you plan to expel anyone, Professor, it should be me. I lead the charge...all of this is on my head," she said.

"Spoken in the fashion of a true adult," Dumbledore smiled until the lines around his eyes were apparent. "I don't plan to suspend anyone and I loathe doling out detentions, I can admit that I am not always right and it seems this time you had the better judgment."

Ron and Harry stared with their jaws hanging open.

"Is that…what you came to say?" asked Hermione nervously.

"No. Sirius and Lupin spotted a pack of werewolves—they are native to this part of England and known to reside in the forest, but there was one among them who should be regarded as dangerous in the highest order," said Dumbledore. "Fenrir Greyback is a brutal, ruthless killer whom has been known to do much more than just bite victims," there was an insinuation in Dumbledore's tone that begged not to be questioned. "Did you see anything that could have been a werewolf," he asked.

"No, just Dementors," Harry said. "Even when mum and dad walked us out."

Ron nodded.

Hermione had to think for a moment. "Before I fought off the last group of Dementors, there was this man. Could he have been with the pack?" she asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "This is indeed worrying. A pack this close to the school could spell a number of issues. I'll just have you be warned, the woods will be swept, until they are you and Ginny are to go nowhere near them. Fenrir's is notorious for its taste for young women and children."

"I understand, sir," Hermione nodded.

"Now, if you'll excuse me—James and Sirius have a knack for wolfing down the Pudding and Egg Nog, I'll try and save you all some, but alas no promises can be made," Dumbledore left the room and shut the doors behind him.

Ron closed the distance between himself and Hermione. "What's going on? What happened that got Ginny hurt," he asked.

"It's nothing to do with you," Harry said.

"So that's it, we're going to keep secrets about my sister?" asked Ron.

"It's none of your bloody business—it's between me Ginny and Harry," she said.

Ron raised his finger in her face. "I want to know, Hermione, why my kid sister almost got her fucking soul sucked out in the woods. And I want to know now!" Hermione's hand arced through the air and slapped Ron right in the cheek. He stumbled back, grabbing his face. "What the Hell's wrong with you? You're all secretive now…with Ginny and Harry, you've just cut me out and now you're hitting me?"

Harry stepped between the two of them. "Let's just calm down before we hurt anymore feelings here…"

"You just can't leave well enough alone. You don't want to know what's going on, I don't think Harry did either, but he got roped into it against his will," Hermione said. "This is my fault, just like Ginny being hurt."

"Stop being the bloody martyr, _this is my fault_. Do you know how pathetic it sounds? It's not as if we're all against you!" Ron said. "I was trying to help," his hand was still clasped to his face.

Hermione could feel the tears welling up in her eyes; she swallowed trying to hold them back. "I'm in love with Ginny—and I fucked it all up when she caught me drunk and getting off with Harry…"

"What?" Ron backed up. "When, when was this?" he asked.

"Last night, I don't remember though," Harry said. "Firewhiskey."

"Shit mate, I mean does McGonagall or Dumbledore know?" asked Ron.

Hermione nodded. "Snape too—he threatened to rat Harry out to his mum."

Ron shook his head and stood there silent for some time. He turned as there was a sound behind Harry and Hermione. His eyes locked on something and he froze. "Blimey," he started, "I better go."

"No," Hermione and Harry spun to see Ginny pulling herself up in the bed, her brown eyes were rimmed with dark circles and she was cut and scraped all over her face.

"Ginny, I'm really—sorry, Harry didn't know about what I felt, so…" Hermione started.

Holding her hand up Ginny stopped her. "I don't care to hear it. The last thing I can remember is you all coming through the trees to save me and while I'm thankful I don't want to hear another word or piss poor excuse from you."

"Ginny…" Hermione stepped forward.

"I think you better go," Ginny narrowed her eyes.

Harry glanced to Ginny and then headed for the door. Hermione lingered for a moment, looking back at her. "I'm glad you're alright Ginny," Hermione said headed for the door.

"I'm not, you broke my heart."

With the door pulled open just enough for her to slip out and she paused. "When the last Dementors were closing in on us and the unicorn—the thought that produced a corporeal Patronus, it was you Ginny, I just thought you should know," she closed the door and was gone.

* * *

Ginny stayed in the infirmary longer than her wounds should have warranted. It was easier to avoid Hermione and Harry if she was there. Ron came to visit and spent most of the rest of the holiday with her. She didn't make what happened outside of the walls there her business. Professor Lupin stopped by one afternoon to see her.

"I just wanted to pop in and see how you were, Miss Weasley," he said.

"Quite alright, actually," she said, Ron was down in the Great Hall eating and she had been alone when Lupin entered.

Lupin rubbed the hair back out of his face. Sweat peppered his brow and he seemed anxious. His hair was haphazard and windblown and his eyes sunken as if he'd had no sleep. "I'm sure that Dumbledore told you about the werewolf threat?"

"No."

"Well, we're checking into it—but you must be careful outside the school, especially near the forest," said Lupin.

Ginny nodded. "I think I won't be going near the forest for a while, thanks."

"That's good to hear," he said. "Look, Sirius and I saw this werewolf, Greyback—he's trouble and if he's near the school his intentions, whatever they may be can't be noble or good. There's nothing good in him and he gives our type a bad name," Lupin said.

Ginny's brown eyes widened. She had known about Lupin, the whole school had, but it was rare he made mention of it himself. He even had Snape cover his classes when the subject had come up. "I'll be sure to avoid being outside alone at all," Ginny said.

"Good," Lupin smiled as he paced across in front of her bed. "Now onto another thing, why are you staying in here? You could have re-grown most of the bones in your body by this time…"

"I just want to, it's until I feel good enough to go out," Ginny said.

Lupin nodded. "Look Ginny, I know—I smelled you and her on each other that night and I smelled Hermione on Harry the next day, just call it a blessing or a curse that comes with what I am, but I also can see Hermione now. She's dead insider, she been in the dorms this entire time and she's barely eating. The House Elves said she's not had much more than toast and water…"

Ginny said nothing.

"It's New Year's soon, please try and make an appearance and perhaps talk to Harry and Hermione…" Lupin said.

She still said nothing.

Lupin started to leave. "I guess I will let you sleep on it. But—oh I almost forgot, Happy Christmas, I didn't have time to give it to you that day," he fished in his pocket a small green jewel like rock.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's kind of like a cleansing stone, some wizards believe that it helps regulate their power," he chuckled. "So you won't be blowing my class apart with your Reductor curses," he said with a snide smile. He went to leave and waved at her.

Ginny smiled back. She couldn't remember the last time she had done that.

* * *

It was the same thing every night when she fell asleep. The first night she hadn't realized it was a dream until the lack of sense in it all dawned on her. She was standing in what seemed to be some kind of ballroom. The place didn't seem to be anywhere in particular but it was ridiculously ornate with high buttressed ceilings and columns lining the walls. The floors were shimmering marble and there were tables with guests sitting at them. Some people were standing near the food while others danced in the large clearing in the center of the floor.

The people were nondescript. They were no one, some of them seemed to be faceless stand ins, with the exception of two people. Harry and Hermione were dancing, or what she thought was meant to be dancing. He was pressing her back against the table while she giggled; the food and punch bowls were jostled.

Harry was kissing down the side of Hermione's neck, stroking her arm and Ginny wanted to look away. But she couldn't move, her head wouldn't turn, she couldn't even close her eyes. She stood there locked on the scene. The music and the other party guests were an underlying soundtrack to the sucking and smacking sound of Hermione and Harry making out.

Ginny was carried closer as Harry gripped Hermione by the back of the leg and lifted her up onto the table. With a careless swipe, Hermione cleared the food onto the floor. Harry tugged at her dress, trying to tear her breasts free and it was at this moment in the dream—every time—that Ginny realized.

They're going to have sex, right here with all of these people around.

* * *

The dream world blurred into obscurity as Ron shook her awake. "Wake up!" he said. "Wake up or I'll hex you awake."

Ginny opened her eyes and blinked quickly. Her heart thudded against her ribs as the anxiety of the dream faded. She awoke angry and sad every time she went to sleep. The last time she had been out of the infirmary had been Christmas Day. She had stayed in the bed hidden from the school for this entire time. The furthest she had gone was the restroom. But that was how she had learned why she was allowed to stay.

Madam Pomfrey had been talking to Lupin the day before outside. When she asked why Ginny was being allowed to stay. Lupin simply told the old nurse: "Because her aliment is a broken heart."

It struck her as odd that Madam Pomfrey would accept that, but she did. Ron didn't seem to want to though.

"Ginny, seriously—you can't stay here like this!" Ron said.

"Oh, why the Hell not?" asked Ginny.

"It's been almost seven days, you're not sick anymore and you need to get out and start…getting over this stuff," Ron said. He had never been much with words or dealing with women. "I get that you're mad at Harry and Hermione, but they're seriously sorry and they didn't do it to hurt you. And you can't hide here for the rest of term."

"Then leave me be until term starts," Ginny said.

"No. Look Gin, there's a surprise waiting for you but if you stay here I can't give it to you," Ron explained.

Ginny sighed. "I don't care, Ron."

"If you stay here I'll tell Percy you want to hear his stories about work," Ron said suddenly.

"Okay, I'll go—but don't expect me to forgive Hermione and don't expect me to be happy about getting dragged to some shitty party to please your conscious," Ginny said as she climbed from the bed. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost five—you don't really keep up with this stuff do you?" Ron asked.

"I can see it's almost dark, that's all I need," Ginny gathered up the things she had with her, some books and homework and a few other little belongings to pack them away. She headed out of the room with them and through the empty halls back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was different than she remembered it, colder and darker. Harry and Hermione were nowhere to be found, neither was anyone else. She headed up the steps to the girl's dormitories to get ready.

She turned the corner into her dorm to find the curtains drawn shut and the entire room engulfed in darkness. Slowly she crept through by memory and bumped the corner of one bed. "Dammit, ow!" she held her wand up. "Lumos!" the room was lit in a small area by her efforts and she soon found the actual knob for the torches.

As the fires flickered to life she found her bed made with neat, pristine corners and a box laying atop it open with a brand new Firebolt broom levitating a foot above the box. Perched on the broom's diamond polished shaft was auburn colored owl sleeping soundly. Ginny stared, confused as to whether someone had returned early and she had wondered into their room.

"You broke your broom when you got hurt," Harry's voice came from behind her. She turned to see him tossing his Invisibility Cloak off, Hermione was next to him.

"And you're always saying Ron won't let you use his owl," Hermione added.

Ginny tried to ignore their presence as she seized the broom and examined it carefully. The owl slept on.

"Ginny I can't tell you how sorry I am, it's not Harry's fault, don't be mad at him about it," Hermione said.

She was still silent. Harry started for the door. "I think I better go, McGonagall told me I only had a few minutes up here…"

"Thanks," Ginny said.

Harry stopped. "You're welcome."

"This must have cost you both a lot, I mean…really," she said.

"Convinced my mum that my broom had a funny rattle, she thinks I'm keeping it and throwing the old one out…" Harry said scratching at the back of his head. "But I better go," he walked out of the room.

Hermione stepped toward her. "Ginny before…"

Ginny began to rub the owl's head. "You said your Patronus protected us, the last one—what memory was it that brought it out, I mean which memory of me?" she asked without looking at Hermione.

"I just thought of you in general, how things are with you. And you know I just want you to be happy, and I'm truly sorry I ruined a chance for that," Hermione said.

"Just tell me why?"

"I don't know, I keep mulling over it in my head. All I come up with is fear," she said. "I'm afraid of what people will say, of what you'll think of me, of our friendship being jeopardized—as stupid as that sounds…"

Ginny sighed. "I'm scared too. I hear all the time that I'm too young or that I'm ginger or that I have these ugly freckles…"

Hermione cut her off. "I love your freckles…"

"…but I don't think that boys look at me the way they will you or Hannah or any of the other girls, I don't think anyone will look at me and it makes me nervous that you wouldn't want me either," Ginny said. "I don't go off and sleep with someone though."

"I didn't sleep with him," Hermione said.

"Oh really?"

"It's hard to explain," Hermione said going red in the face. "It was just rubbing. We kissed and got off, but there wasn't any sex…"

Ginny seemed to be somewhat shocked. "I thought that you had."

"I couldn't. Not with Harry," Hermione said. "Look Ginny, I want to take you somewhere, but you need to trust me and let me do it—it's a surprise and when I do take you, it will make total sense."

"I don't know," Ginny said.

"I just ask for this one chance…and you have time to think, we can't leave till around 4:45 in the morning," Hermione said.

The curiosity was too much to ignore. "What happens then?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I can't say, just…please wait up with me so we can go," she said.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

After Hermione had left Ginny took to the halls to fly her Firebolt in the only place she could now. With the stern warnings from Lupin about the threat of werewolves and what had happened with the Dementors she didn't think she'd be taking any pleasure flights anytime soon. This broomstick took more getting used to. It had better acceleration than her last model and the handling was looser.

The little auburn owl, whom she named Jeffery, followed as close to her as it could. She took the broom up a few floors where there was less likely to be any Professors or Filch to tell her to stop. Though she didn't feel like if they caught her they would stop her, most of them had avoided telling her anything, even Snape.

She zipped down a straight away of a hall and took a corner as fast as she thought the broom could take. It banked and bucked to one side, her hair flailed up into her face for a second before dropping away. Ginny rounded around the halls on one wing in record time and passed back where she had come from. The tragedy of the situation was that she was confined to the castle and this just wasn't a good enough test for a broom of this caliber.

Her twin brothers had pulled some amazing acrobatics during pranks in the halls with brooms, but they were used to flying in and out of tight spaces and dodging a bludger. Plus they were on significantly slower brooms. The Firebolt was the fasted broom in the world off the showroom floor. She made her way around the Eastern wing of the floor and was returning when she noticed something.

Ginny pulled in for a hard landing and slowed before touching down. Though her leg had been repaired for sometime it felt as though it was more fragile to her now…even if it was probably just in her imagination she couldn't help it. The thought of her leg's well being quickly dropped from her mind as she stared at what she was sure was a door that didn't exist when she had passed the first two times.

Quickly, Ginny glanced back to the tapestries in the hall. They were the same, only the door was new. Part of her wanted to open it and check, but the rational side didn't know what to make of it.

A voice from behind her called her to attention. "You're not imagining things. It wasn't there before," Ginny turned back to see Luna Lovegood standing with her hands clasped firmly behind her back. "Hello, Ginevra."

"Luna…what did you do to your hair?" she asked. The question was the first thing that came to mind.

"Hm?" she made the tiny sound with an airy expression plastered on her face. "Oh the color? This I had to do you see, Wrackspurt swarms are attracted to light hair colors…"

Ginny smiled. "Of course, so you came back early?"

Luna nodded. "Yes…father and I were on another expedition. I had heard that you were hurt, but by the time the owl arrived I am sure that you were better."

"Thanks, I'm okay now—really."

"Are you going to get that? I suspect that door is here for you," Luna said.

"How would a door be here for me?" Ginny asked.

"There's tell of a room that only appears when the person is in great need of it. I overheard Dumbledore talking about how he sought a bathroom one time and found one that was immaculate, and then it was never there again. This is likely the same room," Luna said.

Ginny leaned slung the broom over her shoulder and walked toward the door slowly. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Luna inched in behind her. "Mind if I come?"

"Not at all," Ginny said. The door opened to an expansive area that Ginny wasn't even sure could have fit inside of the castle. The air was filled with the golden sparkle of snitches zipping about underneath the high vaulted ceilings. Quaffles levitated in place, waiting to be grabbed there were goal rings to shoot through. Five bludgers bounced around the cavernous room.

"Wow," Luna said.

It was the perfect Quidditch practice field. Ginny mounted her broom. "I guess I should go on and try it out," she said kicking off the ground.

Ginny accelerated harder than she ever had. The wind whipped past her and she suddenly wished that she had brought goggles. It wasn't until she looked to the side of the room that she noticed the shelf filled with Quidditch gear, including brand new goggles. Swooping down she grabbed a pair and whipped back up into the air.

The Firebolt made tight spirals and she corkscrewed between two passing bludgers to snatch one of the floating Quaffles. With the ball in hand she arced out to feint one bludger into the wall and the other continued its chase. A snitch passed inches from Ginny's face as she whipped in around the goal rings to lose the bludger.

She traced a helix down one of the goal posts and the bludger was lost in the swiveling pattern. Ginny reared the broom upward and chunked the Quaffle through the goal ring. Luna threw her arms in the air and cheered in the small set of makeshift stands on one side of the room.

Ginny brought the broom back to where the other girl was. "You want to come with me this time?" Ginny said. "I'll let you catch the snitch." Luna nodded and mounted the broom. Glancing back over her shoulder, Ginny smiled. "Hang on, this is going to be a quick take off," she said.

Luna nodded and removed the wand from behind her ear to tuck it into her robes. As Ginny kicked off they ripped through the air together and zoomed after the first snitch they saw.

* * *

Hermione had given up on the chance that Ginny would show up to the small New Year's gathering in the Great Hall. This celebration was far more subdued than the one back in Hogsmead. The few students who had trickled back to the school over the last few days were talking with one another and waiting for the chance to ring the New Year in.

It was about ten minutes until the countdown when Draco Malfoy made his way over to where Hermione was standing against the wall. She made a disgusted sound. "You know we lost points because you lied and told Snape that Harry kidnapped you…" Hermione said. "Right?"

Draco snickered. "Snape takes away points when you breath too hard—you should get used to it. I think he only does it because he hates Potter's dad so much," Draco said.

"Why does he hate him though? I mean if it's over teasing—this is a bit long to hold that grudge," Hermione said.

"From the way Potter's mom was talking, I think Snape likes her—or liked. Course it's not hard to see why, she's a bit of a W.I.L.F.—if you're into that older experienced witch thing," he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Remind me not to ask you what a wilf is…" she said.

"Speaking of cute witches…where's your pure-blooded half?" asked Draco.

"Really not funny," Hermione said as she watched Ron and Harry pretending their wands were swords…she couldn't believe that they were seventeen and still doing this.

"I came over here to tell you," Draco started. "Second kiss is going to be here…you don't have to do it in front of anyone if you want to get it over with—but it only seems appropriate."

"Fine," Hermione said.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "That's if Weasley shows up…" Draco said. Hermione nodded understandingly. "Well, while we wait, you fancy a dance, Mudblood?" he asked with a bow.

"I'd rather fellate my wand," Hermione answered turning to look away from him.

"That would be an interesting sight to see…the fellate-part, not the death…"

Hermione pushed him. "Piss off, Malfoy!"

Draco continued on across the room chuckling as he left. Hermione stayed in her corner alone sipping on a fizzy drink and watching the door. With less than a minute left until midnight Ginny entered the room with a raven haired girl that Hermione didn't know. She started toward them as Harry and Ron did.

When Hermione passed Draco she pushed him roughly so that he looked up. Harry and Ron had just reached Ginny when the countdown started.

"Ten…"

Hermione shot a glance back at Draco. "You watching?"

"Seven…"

She rushed across the room, being sure to mind her heels and dress as she slipped between the people in the crowd. Now she was approaching the back of Harry and Ron and the black haired girl became clear as Luna Lovegood—why she had dyed her hair was anyone's guess.

"Three…"

Hermione shoved Ron and Harry apart, paused for a split second in front of Ginny. They stared at each other for the brief space of time and Harry and Ron stepped back from the two of them.

"One…"

Throwing caution to the wind Hermione pressed her body into Ginny's, taking her by the waist in the process. Their lips met and Ginny went limp against the door frame. The countdown seemed to freeze at one. There was no cheer, no singing of Auld Lang Syne—just a gasp and silence.

Snape and Sirius stepped within inches of each other and just stared, though Sirius raised his wand as if to fire a spell. Draco nodded and muttered. "Count it…" Dumbledore seemed to have forgotten it was New Years and was examining the ceiling of the Great Hall which had a just began a fireworks display in celebration.

The kiss went on for a long time and Harry nodded smiling. Ron punched him in the arm. "That's my sister, mate," Ron whispered.

Then out of nowhere Luna pounced on Harry, pinning him back against the wall and kissing him. Before he could react and kiss back, she was on Ron doing the same. When they both stared at her she gave a blank faced shrug. "Happy New Year, I guess…"

Hermione broke the kiss and stepped back, sucking on her own lip shyly. Her face reddened and then helpless to stop herself, she smiled. Snape stepped past as if he were on the way somewhere and then he paused right next to her. He leaned down so close that only Hermione or Ginny could have heard.

"Misses Granger and Weasley…that will be one hundred points…" and before he even finished, Hermione knew she didn't care, "…to Gryffindor." Snape made his way on out of the room and in his usual, nasally tone he called back. "Happy New Year's."

* * *

There would be fallout. There might even be outrage and a bit of hatred tossed their way. But it wasn't as if Ginny or Hermione could care. For the first time in the recent memory of everyone present, New Years went on until well past the first stroke of midnight. There was dancing. Hermione danced with Ron, and Harry and even Draco finally got his dance. Sirus was talking Ginny's ear off, but she did get away to do some dancing. Luna danced with Dumbledore, which might have been the night's highlight. Silently Harry wished the Colin Creevy and his camera had been there for this.

And there was laughter and talking and it seemed everyone really had, for a brief few hours, forgotten their old grievances. Sirius even shook hands with Snape, though no one else knew the context under which this had occurred.

By the time that the people in the Great Hall were trickling out of the doors to head to their rooms, it was well past three in the morning. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Harry left with Luna slightly ahead of them. All of the things going on must have tipped Luna off to what was happening because she came along and grabbed Ron and Harry's hands. "Would you two mind walking me back to the Ravenclaw common room?" she asked politely.

They obliged and Hermione made their way back to the tower alone, hand in hand. It was still dark when they arrived in the room and Hermione followed Ginny in and over to the bed. They kissed again and sat down on the edge of the bed. "What now?" asked Hermione.

Ginny shrugged. "We could just keep on…" she kissed her again, "…Doing that. I like it."

Hermione smirked. "You would like that," her hand went up to brush some stray hairs away from Ginny's face. "We need to get the invisibility cloak—I borrowed it and we're going to make our way into Hogsmead with the Marauder's Map," she said.

"Why there?" asked Ginny.

"We need to be able to Apparate," Hermione said.

"Where are we going?"

Hermione's smile grew. "It's a surprise," she said.


	9. City Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to note that this was written before we really knew anything about the Wizards in the US, I tried to change what I could to fit some of that newer stuff without altering the story too much.

Years ago, when Ginny was a first starting at Hogwarts, she, Hermione, Harry and Ron could clamber around beneath the cloak with relative ease. These days, she could barely fit under it with Hermione properly concealed. Their feet were always showing and their bulky jackets didn't help matters.

Clasped close to Hermione from behind, Ginny could barely ignore the irony of the situation. She could smell a sweet scent wafting back off of the other girl the entire time and there was nowhere else to place her hands but at the side of Hermione's hips. Of course the jackets prevented much skin to skin contact. But as they made their way down the steps toward the main the statue that the Marauder's Map marked as the quickest way into Hogsmead, she tried her luck and slipped her hands under the hem of Hermione's jacket to tease the skin at the sides of her body.

At first the attention seemed to go unnoticed, but as navigating the halls quietly became more of a priority Hermione sighed so hard that she shuddered. "Gin…that's really distracting, though not in a bad way necessarily," she said.

"I'll stop it," Ginny said withdrawing her hands.

Filch's cat, Miss Norris was prowling the hallway that intersected with the one they needed to be in. But it wasn't a big deal; the cat seemed to be unable to see them though it might have sensed the movement nearby.

Ginny remembered Harry talking about a secret passage to Hogsmead, best of all it didn't go against Lupin's request that she stay away from the forest.

"Ginny, look…" Hermione said pointing down at something marked on the map in a clean script that she could recognize as Lupin's. "There's a secret entrance to the Slytherin common room," she said.

"You want to try it out?" asked Ginny asked, with a devilish smile growing on her face in the wand light.

Hermione thought. "We could, but we'd need to then break the law to get to our destination on time," she said.

"Which law?" asked Ginny.

"Never mind that, you're worth it," she said. "Let's go check out their common room, see if we can find anything worthwhile on Draco."

They made their way toward the hieroglyph hall and found the secret passage behind a wall panel. Inside it was even more cramped than it had been with just under the cloak. From looking at the map they could see Draco was tucked into bed already and they didn't need to worry about running into him or any other Slytherins in the common room.

The Slytherin common room was down in the dungeons of the castle. It was adorned with the green, silver and black that had become the house colors and much of the decoration was snake related. As indicated on the map, the entire room was empty. Hermione and Ginny stalked across the room to the side of the common room that led up to the boy's dorms.

Quietly the pair made their way into Draco's room and Hermione threw up a quick spell. "Muffliato!" she said. "That will keep Draco from hearing us and this next one will make sure we're hidden from anyone who's not meant to know where here," Hermione added.

As she was casting the spell Ginny started to sift through Draco's things until she found a small bottle labeled: Carnal Cork. Ginny snickered. "Look, Hermione…"

"What is it?" she whispered, more than likely out of habit.

"Carnal Cork…it's to ward off…well it's to make guy's last longer," she said as her cheeks burned.

Hermione smiled. "We'll see about that, Finite Incantatem!" she tapped the vial with her wand. "Now it's useless," Hermione took it from Ginny's hand and slipped it back into Draco's things.

Ginny couldn't stop giggling. "Men are so weird. I heard Muggle Men tie balloons around theirs to keep from going off too early…" she trailed off.

A sheepish smile spread over Hermione's face. "I don't think that's right, but hey, I have an idea," she said.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ginny.

"Read Draco's mind, since he's sleep it will more than likely seem like a dream," she answered. "Okay," she took a deep breath and held her wand out. "Legilimens!" she said holding her wand down over Draco.

Hermione fell silent as Ginny waited off to the side. It was a long time before Hermione seemed done.

* * *

As the spell landed Hermione was ripped into a blurry scene that took place in the Slytherin common room It was late at night, she guessed by the lack of students and what was taking place. She actually wasn't sure if this was a dream or memory, but it wasn't a pretty picture. Pansy Parkinson was bent over the arm of the couch with Draco gripping her at the waist and tugging back on her hair.

Because of the arrangement of small square pillows on the couch, she couldn't get a good luck. But Hermione was suddenly thankful she hadn't touched those couches in the room. Pansy was so loud that Hermione felt it was important she delve somewhere else in his subconscious, now.

Space whirled around and she was watching herself and Ginny kissing on the Quidditch pitch, of course this had never happened but she could hear Draco's thoughts and feel his emotions and he was far too turned on. Hermione jumped memories again.

Mister Malfoy was yelling at Draco and calling him an idiot…this didn't feel right. Hermione made another jump. Then Draco was talking to Moaning Myrtle, whining about his problems during sex with Pansy. Hermione snickered at this. She moved to a new memory

This wasn't a memory, it was a dream and she was far too quickly disgusted. Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room again, only this time herself and Ginny were sitting on his lap together rubbing his chest seductively. Out of shock she paused, horrified. Then she quickly had an idea.

* * *

Ginny decided to root around in the room a while longer and she couldn't help but giggle at what she came back with. Her first instinct was that she had to tell Hermione and then that she was just going to outright steal it. Hermione turned back to her suddenly. "You ready?" she asked.

"Look at this," said Ginny. "It's a riding crop—wonder why he had it, I don't see any horses in here."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you saw his memories and thoughts you'd understand exactly where that's been. "Scourgify!" Hermione said trying to clean the object off. "We can use that, but best make sure it's clean first…Tergeo!"

"What are we going to do with it," asked Ginny.

Hermione tossed the cloak back over them. "You'll see, but I you're going to love what I did in Draco's mind," she said.

"What?"

"I added a few thoughts. They might fit the overall sexual theme inside his head—except they involve his parents," Hermione said.

"Merlin...that's bloody brutal," Ginny said. "I love you," it seemed for a second after that Ginny mulled over what she had just said.

Hermione froze. "Thank you…now let me see the riding crop," she said.

Ginny handed it over.

Hermione held the crop out in front of her and tapped it with her wand lightly. "Portus…" for a moment the item glowed brilliant blue and then it returned to normal. "There, an illegal Portkey, though the ministry has no way to track this sort of thing," Hermione said.

"How do you do this stuff?" asked Ginny.

"I pay attention in class…" Hermione said pocketing her wand and wrapped the cloak up. "Now, let's go, we've wasted far too much time already." She and Ginny grabbed hold of the Portkey and in a torrent of wind and whirling they were ripped from where they stood as things seemed to spin out of control. They locked arms to assure they didn't separate and they held tight to the crop. For an excruciating few seconds the speed seemed to be too great and just then it ended and they landed on something hard, like rock.

* * *

"Lucky I landed on my bum," Hermione said. "That could have done real damage otherwise," she joked.

Ginny sat up blinking, everything was bright and noisy. They were on the top of a building overlooking brilliantly lit billboards and burning lights. "Where are we?" Ginny asked.

"Oh yes, sorry for the secrecy and the impromptu Portkey, never made one before," Hermione said as she stood and dusted herself off. "Look around though, can't you tell?" asked Hermione. "It's Time's Square."

There were cheers in the street below, waves of people screamed and shouted in anticipation and high above them a thirty minute countdown showed the reason why. Sure, in England they had celebrated the New Year five hours ago, but here it was just rounding to the final countdown. "It's so…bright," Ginny smirked. "How do these Muggles ever sleep?"

Hermione shrugged. "When I was a little girl I felt like New York was the center of the universe—it seemed like every movie took place here and everyone here was just so important. So I promised myself since you were important I'd bring you here…"

"…even breaking Wizarding law to do so?" Ginny said raising an eyebrow.

"It seems so," Hermione said.

They sat down on the roof. "So have you actually been here before?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, a long time ago. It wasn't this congested then," Hermione said.

"I bet not," Ginny smiled. She shivered slightly. "There's a draft up here, we should have brought a blanket or something…"

"Way ahead of you," Hermione produced a small beaded back and reached in until the six inch tall bag had her arm up the shoulder in it. "Extending Charm," she said as she pulled out a blanket. "I packed just in case," she said.

They cuddled together and pulled the blanket around them. From this distance up on top of the roof they had a view of the New Year's ball suspended high above the city. It looked like some kind of strange heavenly body with a net of lights covering it. As they waited there, Ginny scooted over until she was sitting slightly against Hermione.

In the silence Hermione ran her hand up the side of Ginny's neck and swept the hair away. "Gin?" she said. Ginny wrenched her neck back to look at Hermione and their lips met. Ginny jostled her way over until she was half on Hermione's lap.

As the kiss continued Hermione's hand found Ginny's skin beneath the blankets and jacket. With a teasing slowness she dragged her fingers over the silky surface of Ginny's stomach, moving higher until felt the lacey rise of the hem of her bra. She stopped.

"No, it's okay," Ginny said drawing back so that her lips a short distance so that they brushed Hermione's as she spoke.

Now Hermione's hand moved lower, past Ginny's belly button and circled the hip bone. "You sure, because we can…" she was cut short when Ginny reached back and ran her hand against the inside of Hermione's thigh.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ginny said.

It happened in what seemed like a flash. All of the kissing that passed between them could have taken hours or seconds—it was hard to tell. Ginny was sitting over Hermione's lap straddling her with her soft skin pressed against the front of Hermione's shirt. With smooth motions, Ginny guided Hermione back and forth along her thigh. As the sensations intensified, Hermione could feel Ginny's breath become more sporadic and her motions were jerky and sudden.

Hermione took a rogue stroke closer to Ginny's pelvis and a stifled, exasperated sigh escaped from Ginny as her eyes flicked to the side in embarrassment. She dragged her body further up against Hermione's and turned to rest her head chin against her own shoulder. "Sorry…"

"It's okay," Hermione said kissing the nape of her neck. Now she dragged her fingers over the material of Ginny's underwear. "If you need me to, just tell me…stop."

Ginny nodded but said nothing.

Hermione traced a soft line up and down the front of the fabric. "So this is okay?" she said in a raspy voice.

Ginny only nodded again, this time averting her eyes. Hermione took her by the chin and pulled her face back to kiss her. She burrowed her hand through the hem of the underwear until she felt warm, moist skin. It felt so different from her own, but she figured that she knew the basics.

She used one finger out of caution, drawing it back and forth while using her thumb to massage a spot hidden in soft curls of hair just above the opening. It worked fast; Ginny melted back against her and began to let out sharp cries as she drove her weight down against Hermione's hand. Ginny's breathing grew low and subdued as Hermione slowed what she was doing.

Reaching over, Hermione grabbed her wand. "I've just thought of this…" she found herself defaulted to speaking in raspy whispers now. "Vivation." Hermione's wand fired off a pink spark and began to rattle about in her hand, vibrating had against her palm. From the moment it touched Ginny, she seemed to be completely lost in the sensation.

When it was over, Hermione felt Ginny spasm against the wand and her hand and let out a sharp grunt. Hermione steadied her until the bulk of it had passed and then Ginny was just breathing sluggish, deep breaths. "You…that feels better than when I do it," Ginny said in a small voice.

Hermione smoothed back her hair. "Looks like we finished just in time," she pointed to the building top where the ball was nearing the bottom and they were kissing. The countdown didn't matter and the ball touched down amidst a chorus of cheers.

Ginny was pulling her shirt back on underneath the blanket; it seemed twice as warm as it had been when they first put it on. "Thanks for…this—and I'm sorry I stayed mad so long," Ginny said, her voice was her own again. Confident, though something seemed to be there, skirting around the action that had just passed between them.

"It really was my fault, I'm sorry," Hermione said. "How much longer do you want to stay here?"

"Maybe we can come back sometime, when we're supposed to be in Hogsmead. Go shopping for something in the big city—I heard New York has an entirely different Magical Market," Ginny said.

"I doubt they'd take our money," Hermione smiled. "Did you know they call Muggles 'No-Maj' over here?" Hermione asked.

"Well that's a little on the nose," Ginny said, her cheeks still burning pink.

"I'll set up the Portkey to get us home," she said. She held her wand up to start the incantation on the crop. "Portus—" Hermione started but was interrupted midway.

CRACK!

"Drop your wands and put your hands where we can see them!" came a gruff voice.

"Accio Blanket!" came a second voice and the blanket was ripped away from both of them.

Hermione and Ginny placed their wands down slowly and got to their feet. "Who are you? You can't just do this…" Hermione said.

One of the two men stepped closer aiming his wand down at them. "A Brit? Oh that's rich, you got a permit for a Portkey?" he asked.

Hermione lowered her head. "No," she said.

"Wait a minute," Ginny said. "Who do you think you are?"

"Agents Williams and Brown—Aurors of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, you're under arrest for illegal creation of a Portkey and unlawful international porting…" he said.

"How do you know we had a Portkey?" Hermione asked.

"There's a taboo on the word, you won't talk you're way out of this that easily," said Agent Brown as he searched their things.

Williams collected their wands and patted them down and then bound their hands behind their backs with a spell.


	10. Tourists

Brown ended leading Hermione along. He was a much older man with a pale, saggy face. His hair was a salt and pepper texture with the grey parts outnumbering the black or white ones. While he wasn't completely rude, he was somewhat rough in the way which he handed her. He seemed annoyed from the moment he laid eyes on them. Williams had taken hold of Ginny to Apparate her when they left. He was the opposite in every way—tall, black and lean and only a few years older than Hermione. When they had reappeared at the base of the Statue of Liberty Hermione had thought for a second that he was actually kind of attractive, there seemed to be a glow in his hazel eyes.

Though he didn't seem to have interest in Hermione, he seemed to be overly gentle with Ginny despite her string of snide remarks since being taken into custody. She continued to struggle against Williams too, even though he was easily bigger than her.

They entered the chamber beneath the Statue of Liberty through a hidden door on Ellis Island. Moments after stepping into the darkness they appeared in a huge circular room that seemed to be a junction for at least a dozen halls. Like the city above this place still bustled with activity and no one would have any way of knowing it was approaching one in the morning.

Hermione and Ginny were led through the circle. On all sides people used the Floo Network to enter and exit and paper airplane memos zipped past. The room was ornately decorated with huge obelisks encircling it and a high ceiling depicting a mural of several wizards and witches painted in a Renaissance style. Despite their arrest and the obvious trouble they were in, Hermione found it hard to tear herself from that ceiling.

Once in her fifth year she had asked to go with Mister Weasley to see where he worked at the Ministry. Miss Weasley had come too, just to transport her back as she couldn't stay all day. She couldn't help but compare their own Ministry with this.

They were led into passage way that was much more modernized than the circular room and it almost looked like a Muggle Office building. The two agents shuffled them under a huge, hanging plaque that was engraved in gold lettering: NEW ENGLAND DEPARTMENT MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.

A passing man winked at them. "What have we got here?" he asked turning to address the agents that had them in custody.

"Just a couple of tourists," Brown said in a snide tone.

Ginny whipped her head around to look back and there was a flash of red hair. Hermione felt a flutter as she couldn't shake the fact that Ginny looked very sexy when angry, so long as it wasn't directed at you. "Exactly what penalty are we facing…your ilk would arrest two witches based on the creation of a bloody Portkey," she said.

"Necessary security measure," said Brown. "We've had a few worries about anti-No-Maj violence showing up from overseas and causing havoc here—" he glared at Ginny. "We don't have the issues with blood status that you have over there."

Ginny's face wrinkled in angry. "You smarmy twat, Hermione is Muggle-born, her parents are Muggles, we came here on a date!" she insisted.

"Ginny, calm down—we don't know what kind of trial we're going get and our being angry won't help matters," said Hermione.

Williams chuckled. "Trial? You're just getting a fine is all," he said. "You said you came here on a date?" he looked from Hermione to Ginny. "I see."

"Are you under-age?" Brown asked in a curt voice.

"I'm not, and I cast the Portkey, both times—what bearing does that have?" Hermione said.

Brown shook his head. "You don't understand, in Britain you're considered an adult at seventeen, here it's eighteen—under age magic is still not permitted," he said.

"I was born in September of 1979…I'm still of age," Hermione protested.

A short grunt escaped Brown. "We might have to check their wands," he said.

Suddenly Hermione's eyes widened. She hoped that the Portkey incantation would show up as being the last thing she cast and not the spell before that. Even given the context of matters, having the vibrating wand show up on a documented account of her arrest would be truly embarrassing.

"There's no need," Williams said with a smile.

"Why not?" asked Brown.

"These girls were just out to see the ball drop, there's no evidence to suggest they're doing anything more sinister," Williams replied.

A short smile flashed over Ginny's face as she glanced to Hermione. She bit her lip shyly. "If you'd like more confirmation of who we are, contact Hogwarts," Ginny's entire tone was different now.

Williams nodded. "That can be done in a flash, I just need names," he said.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Ginny pointed to herself and tilted her head down as if to make her brown eyes bigger and more doe-like, "and Hermione Jean Granger."

Brown turned to walk away. "I'll check the database and grab a coffee," he said.

Computers being used by Wizards?

They stood there in the small room in silence as Ginny stared at something across the hall. There was a lock up room with a sleek, large broom floating over the floor majestically. It wasn't any model Hermione had ever seen Harry or Ron drooling over. "What is that?" asked Ginny.

Turning to look, Williams pointed to the broom. "That?" he asked. "Illegal street racing Broom, they're built out of kits mostly."

"Street racing?" asked Hermione.

Williams nodded and paced down the side of the desk between them. "Yeah, it's a little bit of American Muscle, people have enchanted some that come close to breaking the sound barrier and they almost always kill their users…" Even with the last part about certain death, Hermione could sense Ginny wanted to just go over and touch the broom. Williams took a seat on the corner of the desk. "So wait, you're students that can create Portkeys?" he asked.

Ginny piped up. "I can't, but Hermione's been pristinely gifted since her first year. She's head girl. They call her the brightest witch of her class."

Williams stifled a laugh. "Head girl? Is that so," he said. "Look, I'm going to grab something from the break room, would you ladies like something?"

"Water, please," Hermione said averting her eyes.

"Can I have a tea, please—with two sugars and some milk," Ginny said.

"Ginny, they're American. They're tea is all different," said Hermione.

Williams laughed as he left the room. "I'll do my best, Miss Granger."

When he was gone Hermione sighed. "I'm really glad that they didn't do Prior Incantato on my wand," Hermione said.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not sure if it would be that Portkey spell or the other one we used," Hermione said.

"Oh," Ginny smiled nervous and averted her eyes. "About that…have you ever, you know, used that yourself?"

Hermione shook her head. "I really haven't though after seeing you…well I only just found out about it recently. It's not meant for that, it's some botched spell that Harry and Ron were making something much more sinister," Hermione said.

"What?"

"It was supposed to be used to vibrate things from a distance, take from that what you will," Hermione said.

"That's more than a little unnerving," Ginny said. "But I'll have to thank Harry."

For a moment they sat there silent and Hermione reached over and took Ginny by the hand. "They'll have noticed we're not in the dorms by now," she said.

Williams returned with their drinks. "Here you go," he said. "My partner just contacted your school and the Headmaster is coming over to pick you up—is it true that he's the Albus Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Damn, that guy's so popular that he's on our Wizard Cards," said Williams. "Think he would give autographs?"

"Knowing Dumbledore, anything is possible," Hermione said.

"A girl I dated's grandmother claimed to have witnesses his duel with Gellert Grindelwald, said it was the best magical bout of all time and that she'd remember it as long as she lived," Williams said.

"I've heard talk of it and read about it," Hermione said drinking from her water. "I guess I never actually questioned him about it or anything," she said.

"You're lucky to have a great man like that teaching you," said Williams.

* * *

It wasn't until Dumbledore showed up in his flowing satiny robes that Ginny noticed that except for a few exceptions the Wizards of America looked more or less indistinguishable from Muggles in the way of clothing.

Even the older males here were shaven down to a point that many older Wizards would never be caught with. The traditional and conservatism of the Ministry didn't seem to have crossed the pond.

Williams and Brown both seemed to be in awe of the old Wizard's presence; though it wasn't every day you met a Grand Sorcerer that was also First Class Order of Merlin. He greeted them warmly. "You must be Agents Brown and Williams, we spoke through the Floo?" he said, his blue eyes shimmering through the half moon spectacles.

"Sir," Brown nodded. "We just contacted you in regards to these two…"

"Ginny and Hermione, ah no doubt they were out and about for a late night outing for the New Year?" Dumbledore said. He didn't seem the least bit mad.

Williams sighed. "That and they created an illegal Portkey, sir," he said.

"Ah, well who hasn't? Bureaucracy has long got in the way of simple fun and every once in a while the rules need to be bent," Dumbledore said. "What's the fine?"

"One Galleon and two Sickles, your money," said Brown.

Dumbledore fished out a scarlet and gold coin purse and rifled through it. Obviously it had an extension charm on it. He plucked the money out and deposited it in William's hand. "Come along, girls," he said. "Is there anything else?" he asked addressing the two agents.

"Well if you could, sir," started Williams, "I'd like an autograph."


	11. The Secret Life of Servus Snape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snape is caught in a compromising position

For most of the following day they were curled up together in the mysterious disappearing room on the seventh floor. Odder still was the fact that the room had completely changed. Where there had once been a huge Quidditch practice arena there was now a small cozy room with a huge four post bed, polished hard wood floors and a fireplace.

Whereas the day before Ginny was obviously nervous, she seemed completely at home today. For the past three hours they had been slowly studying, though Ginny's nudity made it hard to keep her eyes on any book—a feeling that Hermione wasn't used to having. In the soft flickering fire light Ginny's freckles were easier to see than they had been on the roof top and it seemed there wasn't a two inch patch of skin without one.

Hermione rolled so that she was laying on her stomach and slid her potions book back to where she could read it. Ginny clambered up onto her back resting her chin down on her shoulder. "Hmm," the soft note escaped Hermione.

"Nothing," Ginny said with a chuckle. Her skin was cool on Hermione's back and slightly slick. There was a sharp pinch and Hermione shot her gaze to the side to see Ginny nibbling at her shoulder. "It's a peculiar thing?" she asked.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"That Williams guy…the Agent, he kept the riding crop."

"Why you worried? Planning to make use of it?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," she said averting her eyes.

"You know that bloke had an eye for you, right?" asked Hermione.

Ginny dragged her foot along the side of Hermione's leg. "I don't think so…"

"Oh Hell, he did Ginny," Hermione said. "He practically jumped on the chance to take you into custody."

There was a sound above, like someone running. Odd thing about the room was that it seemed to change size and shape but somehow still exist in the castle. Ginny stared Hermione in the eyes. "I'm sure that he just could sense how good I am..." Ginny said bragging about something that had, to Hermione's knowledge never been tested.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Come off it, Ginny," she started, "you've never even seen one."

"How would you know?"

"I just know," Hermione said.

"Well, you're wrong."

"Where?"

Ginny combed her fingers through Hermione's hair. "I was using the prefect's bathroom for some alone time, typically no one comes in there…and Cedric Diggory and that Cho girl, the one Harry used to be all hot for, burst in there and started shagging like rabbits or something…"

"…oh my God…" Hermione laughed. "Did they see you?"

"Luckily, they were too busy with each other. But do you know what Cho called his…well you know?" asked Ginny.

"What?"

"His Bologna-Pony…" said Ginny giggled.

"I really can't stand Cho," Hermione said. "She tried to be nice and all, but she was just too weak and weepy—she cried over Cedric graduating while trying to get Harry to snog her."

"That is pretty dismal. Some of her friends pick on Luna a lot," said Ginny.

"Luna is a bit odd, but that doesn't give people the right to pick on her. And she's never been anything but nice from what I've seen."

"She's really quite lovely, can't understand why they pick at her," said Ginny.

Hermione slammed her book shut and sighed. "We shouldn't stay up here all day, it'll be time to eat soon and people might think we've had another joyride on a Portkey if we don't show up," she said.

"Not like I was going to let you get any work done, anyway," Ginny snickered. She kissed Hermione on the back of the neck. "I was kind of hoping we could hang about here for a while longer," she said. "I just wanted to give you something…" Ginny scooted back on the bed until she was up on her knees.

"What's that?"

"Just roll over and I'll show you," Ginny said and Hermione rolled over and then sat up. She pulled Ginny toward her and their lips met gently. Slowly, Ginny guided her back onto the bed. From her crooked position on the bed, Hermione caught a glimmer of something fierce in Ginny's gaze and before she knew it the younger girl was kissing her inner thigh.

"Oh…okay, right. Sure," Hermione let out a dopey chuckle.

They had been naked so long in the room that Hermione had nearly over looked the fact but as Ginny wasted no time nuzzling her face between Hermione's legs she was made very aware. The first sensations were teasing and Ginny's movements seemed exploratory, though bold at the same time. It wasn't until there was a moment of clarity through her anticipation that Hermione her stifled breaths were in cadence with the stroke of Ginny's tongue and the brush of her lips.

When the tension broke Hermione felt as if she was melting into the bed, her whole body was drenched in a wave of warmth, following by the rush of the cold air against her skin. The air in the room hadn't seemed cold until then. She held tight to the side of Ginny's face and the back of her head until the final shuddering cries escaped and then she lay very still with her brown eyes staring up at the ceiling.

For a few moments there was an overwhelming greed that clouded everything else in her head. She wanted to cry out for Ginny to do more, but the thoughts ebbed out like the tide and she was left trying to catch her breath and trembling slightly against the air.

Ginny lay against the inside of her leg so that her next words reverberated off Hermione's thigh. "So are you still ready to go?" she asked.

Hermione drank in large gulps of the air. Every one of her senses was heightened, there was a ringing in her ear and the drag of Ginny's fingers against her leg threatened to drive her into insanity. "We need to stay here for a moment," she said between breaths, "I don't think I can walk."

* * *

Ginny and Hermione stole off to Myrtle's bathroom (because it was on the way, not because they wanted to deal with the ghost) to wash up before dinner. As they walked Hermione slowly returned to herself, though she seemed to have a slight hint of a glow about her. Entering the bathroom Hermione instinctively called out. "Myrtle, are you here?" there was no answer. "Well, we still can't do anything, she could come bouncing in at any time and you know what a pervert she is…" Hermione said.

"I know…kind of in a hurry so we can go eat," Ginny said.

"I guess we kind of had to come in here though," Hermione smirked.

Ginny giggled nervously. "Yeah, I can't go down to dinner with you all over my face, now can I?"

They undressed and climbed into the baths, washing quickly to avoid facing Myrtle. As if on cue, while they were pulling on their underwear the ghost appeared through the back of a toilet stall. "What are you two doing in here?" she asked.

"Washing up before dinner, Myrtle," Hermione said.

"I see. Little late for a bath if you ask me," Myrtle said. "Though I wouldn't know since I can't take them…did you come here to tease me with it?"

"No, we're just here because it's close, Myrtle. Witch's Honor," Ginny said. For some reason she seemed to listen to Ginny more.

"Well then, I'd like to thank you anyway, Granger-Girl. You got Harry to come in here and I had him all to myself for two whole hours," said the ghost.

"Two hours, he must think you're a very special girl," Hermione chimed.

There was a crash at the door and Ginny and Hermione glanced to each other. Myrtle still spoke. "Was that sarcasm?"

Snape's voice broke the air. "In here…if we catch someone we'll just inquire as to what they're doing alone in the bathroom in the middle of the evening, no one uses it here," Snape said.

A second voice giggled a cackling laugh that echoed through the room. Hermione and Ginny pulled Harry's cloak from the bag and clambered under it, there was no time to pick up their things. They shuffled into the corner and Myrtle sighed. "Vanishing on me now are you?"

Ginny and Hermione squatted down to hide their legs. Snape rounded the corner with a beautiful woman with long, black flowing hair trailing down her back. She was dressed elegantly in a tight black dress with a draped scarf over her shoulders. Snape aimed his wand at Myrtle. "You—who were you talking to in here?" he asked.

"No one I guess," Myrtle responded hovering in front of Snape.

"Then, leave," he ordered her. Myrtle complied forcing herself down one of the toilets and out of sight. Snape and the woman were kissing at once and Ginny almost wanted to vomit when she realized what was going on. Worse still was the fact they couldn't leave, Myrtle had left the floors sufficiently wet and any attempt to leave would be loud.

Snape ripped the woman's shoulders from the dress, kissing his way down them. She pulled at his greasy black hair, tugging him in toward the path she wanted him to take. "What would my idiotic cousin say if he knew I was shagging Snivellus behind his back?" she said as he revealed more of her milky skin and drew the dress down over her body.

"Now Bella, you know I try not to even think of Sirius, lest I vomit right here and now. But I could ask the same about your husband," Snape spoke in a raspy, exuberant tone that Ginny knew she had never heard him use.

"Bella…Bellatrix Lestrange—Sirius's cousin?" Hermione whispered suddenly. "Do you think that's why Snape was in here the last time?"

The sound of the water running covered for them. "You think?" Ginny thought back to the last time he was there and his lame excuse. And how he was always sulking about the castle alone.

"One of the students has left her skirt and tie here," Bellatrix pulled away from Snape to retrieve the items, Ginny's items. She threw the tie over her head and tightened it. "Would you find it alluring if I slipped myself into this tiny skirt?" she asked.

"Mm, do you think you could?" asked Snape.

"She better not," whispered Ginny a little too loud. "Her bloody Irish-Hips are going to stretch the hem all out…"

All at once the whole bathroom froze. There was a frantic scream out in the hallway and someone was running nearer and nearer. A shrill voice cried out, laden with sobs. "It's Draco! Someone get Madam Pomfrey! Quick!"


	12. Blood on the Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's an attack on the school.

Snape and Bellatrix were clambering through the shallow water to get to the door, straightening their clothes and leaving Ginny's things slung across the stall door. They were out into the hall and Myrtle followed. Hermione and Ginny kept themselves concealed under the cloak and then sneaked off through the room to collect their left behind things and get out.

Out in the hall they were confronted with a blood spattered Pansy Parkinson charging down the hall with an expression of terror on her face. Hermione and Ginny ducked around the corner and tossed the cloak off, stuffing it back into the beaded bag. They emerged from into the corridor again with forced expression on their faces.

Snape had already grabbed Pansy's shoulder. "Calm down Miss Parkinson, are you injured?" he asked.

"Just…barely," she showed him a cut on her palm. "But Draco—Sirius Black and Professor Lupin tried to help him but there's not much they can do…Potter and Weasley are there too…"

"What happened?" asked Ginny.

"Men…they just came out of the woods and suddenly they were all over us, they were armed and we didn't have time to get our wands…"

Hermione rushed forward. "Were these men big, rough looking—with unkempt beards?" she asked.

Pansy nodded.

"Professor Snape—the werewolves," Hermione said.

"Go and tell the Headmaster and return to the Great Hall don't attempt to go and fight…" Snape said.

"I'm on the—" Hermione started but Ginny cut across her.

"Not a chance, Snape—you can deduct my points now and give me detention later," Ginny reached into the beaded bag and fished out her Firebolt. Before Snape could protest she zipped through the hall toward the main entrance.

* * *

Their saving grace was that there was hours until sundown and the full moon wouldn't provide any help to the wolf pack Fenrir had brought to back him up. Sirius's dog form was immune to the lycanthropy, but Harry and Ron were in true danger. Draco might have already been lost.

They were outnumbered and some invisible cutting spell had dug into the spot between Ron's shoulder and armpit. His entire right flank was drenched in blood. Harry had fared better, but not by much, one of the same spells had hit his face and cut shallowly from his forehead down diagonally between his eyes and over his nose. Half his face was streaked with blood.

"Why are you protecting these racist, blood purists, Lupin?" Greyback mocked. "Despite letting you live here and be around them, they'll never accept you!"

A series of spells went blocked between the two battling groups as Harry and Lupin advanced on the wolfpack. Draco's body lay motionless under a tree and he was past the lines that the wolves had formed.

One of the men dove for Harry and he slid under casting a stunner upward into his chest. "Stupefy!" the spell sent the wolfman flying into the air to tumble to a stop feet away.

"Harry, Ron, get out of here," yelled Lupin.

"You can't order us around, sir—we're adults," Ron said as he parried a series of attacks with his wand.

They were losing ground, the wolves advanced toward the school and worse, Draco was further back near the fringe of the woods. Two of them jumped Lupin and he blasted one with a stunner as the other tackled him roughly to the ground. In the tussle for control Lupin lost his wand but was able to get the man in a headlock.

He pulled at his neck, choking him and pressing his face down into the snow until he was limp and lifeless. Harry and Ron held off any attacks while Sirius charged Greyback and went to bite his neck. With an expert backhand, he was knocked back.

"Reducto!"

An eruption of dirt and snow knocked Greyback down and caused the rest of the wolfpack to recoil back. Ginny sped into the fray on her broom with her wand held aloft. "Leave, Greyback…"

"You…you're the one from the woods the other day," Greyback was licking his lips. "And here I thought I'd have to get inside of the school to split open a treat like you…"

Ginny whipped her broom around in a quick circle making a pass between the wolfpack and skirting right between them so that she kicked up the dust around them. Sirius sprung into the air and knocked one of the other wolfmen down. Frenzied, Greyback went after Ginny but she climbed steeply, flipped herself toward the ground and feinted him back toward the forest. He dove to catch her but she was gone and as she turned she aimed her wand at Ron.

"Accio Belt!" Ginny yelled and Ron's belt was ripped from his pants and up into her waiting hand. She made a sweep close to the ground as Harry stunned another one of the creatures attempting to come at her. She tapped her wand against the belt. "Portus…" she said as she zoomed up and over the wolfpack.

Ginny skimmed the edge of the forest and just as she passed over Malfoy's badly broken body laying face down against a blood soaked snow bank. She tossed the belt down on top of him and whipped her broom up into the air. In a burst of white light Draco vanished, Ported back into the school.

"A Portkey, brilliant Miss Weasley!" said Lupin.

With a cocky wink, Ginny went to salute and just then Greyback was in the air and she was too late to reach down and pull the broom up. His claw like hand was pulled back to swipe and he was coming right for her.

She whipped her wand up to cast with little time left. "Spada Convertire!" cried Ginny and a shimmering light rippled through her wand. The implement extended out and flattened into a sturdy looking long sword but she was too late to bring the wand-sword back down…

…and then a quartet of vicious invisible slashes ripped through Fenrir causing his movement to flutter and giving Ginny her opening. She slashed at him as he pulled his hands up to block and the sword, powered by her speed, tore his arm off just below the elbow.

A splash of blood rained down on the snow and Fenrir landed next to it flanked by his men. Severus Snape and Dumbledore stood at the ready, Snape still holding his arms in the casting position from the slicing spell.

Ron and Harry took this chance to try and advance, but with a swing of his remaining arm Fenrir fended them off. He held his nub-of-a-former-arm as he yelled. "You disgusting little bitch! I'll take my time with you, mark my words, you'll beg for death!"

"You'll do no such thing," Lupin yelled.

"Yeah, so just take you nub arm and go fuck yourself," Ron yelled holding his wound.

Ginny shook her sword-wand and it returned back to its normal form. Fenrir made an attempt at going for his severed hand and she aimed her wand at it and cast another Reductor Curse. This one was right on target and blasted the severed limb into scraps of meat and bone.

With a snarl, Fenrir and his men turned and ran for the forest, defeated.

Snape glared at Ginny. "You've more than likely just signed your death warrant, girl," Snape said.

"Don't talk to her like that!" yelled Ron.

"It's a simple fact that Fenrir takes pride in what he does to young attractive women, if he just kills you to death you'll have been lucky," Snape said as he slipped his wand back into his robes. "I've business to which I need attended to."

"I'm sure you do," Ginny called after him.

Dumbledore looked over the group as Sirius was returning to his human form. He sighed. "Has anyone sustained injury from direct contact?" he asked.

They all shook their heads and then Harry said. "Probably Malfoy…if he's even alive," his tone sunk.

With a somber nod Dumbledore glanced back. "Come, it shall be dark soon and we need to attend to Draco and make sure that the castle is secure," he said.

* * *

Lupin, Sirius and Ron had lost the most blood; though they were all capable of walking the distance up to the Infirmary. When they crossed into the room with Ginny, Dumbledore and Snape; Hermione was standing opposite the bed where Draco was laying. There was a strange tense silence.

A sullen faced Madam Pomfrey spirited Ron to one side of the room and pushed back onto the bed. "Stay still, child," she said tugging away the ripped sleeve of his shirt.

Ginny forced her way between everyone and ran to the center of the Infirmary, right in front of Draco's bed. "Why isn't anyone doing anything for him?" she asked.

"Your Portkey was an immaculate, Ginny…really," Lupin said in a quiet voice.

Ginny looked to Hermione to see the mournful expression in her eyes and before Dumbledore said anything she already knew what it meant. "I shall contact the Malfoys, Madam Pomfrey if you would…prepare the deceased…" Dumbledore's voice was low.

Ron winced against the pain of the potion that was poured on his arm as Pomfrey ran to cover Draco with a sheet. "What…you mean Draco's…"

"Everyone who's not injured…out please," Pomfrey cut him off.

Walking over to the side of the room where Hermione was, Ginny threw an arm over her shoulder and guided her out of the room. The doors were shut behind them and Ginny buried her face against Hermione's neck. "That was your Portkey?" Hermione said through the sobs.

"Yes."

"He was alive when he got there… you did good…it was just too late," Hermione. "There was nothing anyone could have done…" she added.

They turned to leave and Dumbledore was in front of them on the way down the hall back to his office. He didn't glance back or even acknowledge them. Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange were coming the other direction and as they passed Snape stopped. "If you're going to be needing to sleep more soundly, Miss Weasley, I could provide you with a potion to assure a dreamless, comfortable sleep."

Ginny paused and looked over at him. He was staring toward the end of the hall, his greasy curtains of black hair barely hiding his red-rimmed eyes. She shook her head. "No thank, you sir…I'll be fine."

* * *

The next few days passed slowly; there was a memorial service for Draco the first day that the other students returned. And as expected, a lot of students didn't return. Much of the school returned to normal even then, most of them hadn't been there for the death or to see the badly battered body, after all.

But Ginny didn't sleep right for weeks. Hermione hated that she couldn't be there with her to help, but it wouldn't be allowed. Harry and Ron made full recoveries, but in lieu of what had happened they were somewhat more serious about their dueling skills—even going as far as to create a dueling club that Lupin and Sirius helped to instruct.

Hermione, Ginny, Luna and several other students joined up. At least with the dueling lessons they felt like they were doing something. By the time Ron's birthday rolled around, March first, Ginny was only experiencing the dreams on the odd occasion. Ginny and Hermione sneaked their way into the boys dormitories in the early hours of the morning with the cake they had prepared the day before with the help of the House Elves.

With a jolt from her wand, Hermione lit the candles on the cake and she and Ginny began to sing. Ron rolled over and looked at her, furrowing his brow. "Get up!" Hermione said. "It's your birthday."

"D'awe, this is the boy's!" Ron whined.

Harry patted the nightstand next to his bed for his glasses. "What's going on…Hermione why are you in here?"

"Me too," Ginny said cheerfully. "Happy birthday, Ron," she said holding out the pan with the cake atop it. She stepped toward the bed and placed it down at Ron's side.

The rest of the room was coming awake to see the two girls standing in their midst. Neville Longbottom grumbled. "What are you two doing in here, Ginny?" he asked fighting to cover himself up better.

Harry let out a grunt. "Relax, Neville, they ain't shoppin' what you've got," Harry said in a snide tone as he slipped his glasses on. "Why is this all taking place so early?" asked Harry.

Hermione's dropped to sit on the edge of Ron's bed. "We just wanted to get an early start on the celebrations," Hermione said. "Now get up," she added.

The others in the room were quiet. "I'm not going to get out of bed in me knickers and just have my stones on display," Ron said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Nothing we haven't seen before," she laughed. Hermione stifled a giggled at her comment. Grabbing hold of the sheet, Hermione ripped it back toward her revealing Ron Quidditch pajamas.

Ron let out a shriek. "Alright! Alright, I'll get up!" he moved the cake aside and climbed from the bed.

Hermione smiled. "We've got a bit of a surprise for you," she said.

"What's that?" asked Ron.

"Gonna play a Quidditch match today, me and Hermione versus you and Harry…" Ginny said.

"We can't go outside the castle, you know that…we can only play outside in real games because the Aurors are here to watch," said Harry.

"Nope, it's a surprise—we didn't even have to get permission," said Hermione. "Come on, get up. All of you. Luna's bringing some food," she added.

"You put Loony Lovegood in charge of food?" Ron asked. "She's probably going to try and feed us some imaginary creature her dad made up…"

Ginny looked at him, crossed. "Don't make fun of her! She's really sweet and she's doing all of this for your birthday!" she said. "There haven't been many chances for us to…celebrate since Draco—we could at least take this one," she said.

"Alright," Ron said. "I'm coming. I'm coming," he began to dress in a hurry as did the others while Ginny and Hermione retreated to the outside of the door to wait. When they were ready they all walked down to the Common Room where Hermione and Ginny had hung a huge banner for Ron. "Thanks," he said to them. "It looks like you've worked really hard."

"Just wait till you see the best part," Hermione said.

The pair of girls led them out into the hall and up to the seventh floor corridor where they knew the room to be. As they approached the end of the hall Neville pointed. "What's that door? It's never been here before…"

"You'll see," said Ginny.

When they reached the doors and threw them open they find the interior of the room to be a half-sized indoor Quidditch arena with some tables on the outside. Luna was setting out food on the tables and straightening things when they came in, her wand tucked neatly behind her ear. "Oh, you're here…I thought it would be later."

"We didn't want to keep you waiting, Luna," Ginny smiled.

"Happy birthday, Ronald," Luna said in just about as an enthusiastic voice as they had ever heard her speak. She plucked her wand up and fired a jet of light that broke off into glittering balls as it passed by.

Ron looked shocked. "Thanks Luna…but what is this place?" he asked. "How can this even be here?"

"It's called the Room of Requirement," said Hermione. "It comes to anyone in need and shapes itself to their desire."

"Wicked," Neville mused. Dean and Shamus who were behind him just nodded along.

"It can be a Quidditch practice field, or a dance hall, or a romantic cabin for two," Ginny said with a glance toward Hermione.

Ron's face curled up in disgust. "I'll be sure to wipe down anything I touch in here," he said as he went to sit at the table.

"Hermione, you mean to tell me you guys have known about this and you've been all tight-arsed with it?" Harry asked.

"Well, only since right after we started dating…but yeah," said Hermione.

"This is the perfect place," Harry said. "If it can honestly do what you say, this could be our practice room…we have to tell Professor Lupin about it."

"Do you think he doesn't already know, mate?" asked Ron. "He and your Dad and Sirius went all over this place making that map," he said.

"And this isn't even noted on the map," Harry said. "You would at least think they'd put that much!"

Ron nodded. "They might not have known then," he said.

Ginny piped up. "But it's kind of good that not a lot of students and teachers know…"

"Leaves you and Hermione a place to come get all horizontal," Ron said rolling his eyes.

"By the way Ron, if you think that's gross I forgot to give you the gory details because I was too busy being arrested. But my vagina thanks you for that vibrating wand charm," Ginny said with a smirk.

"You're welcome," Harry smiled.

"Don't say that word!" screamed Ron, jumping up from the table.

"Hmm, I might say more," Ginny asked sarcastically.

"That's it, Ginny, you're ruining my birthday on purpose and I'm sending mum an owl," Ron said shaking his head. He dropped back to his sea. "I don't think I'm going to be able to eat for a while."

"That's a first," said Shamus.

"I'm sure if you're sick, Ronald that the best remedy would be a little rest. Though I can't, for the life of me figure out how that would make you sick…or how a vagina expresses gratitude…" Luna scratched at her dyed hair and went back to cutting up the cake.

"Oh now, come off it, Ron and have a little fun!" Hermione said finally. "We might have just inadvertently helped the Self-Defense Club out here. It's your club, isn't that worth something?" asked Hermione.

Ron nodded. "I guess we could have some cake and play some Quidditch then…we'll tell Professor Lupin later…"

Ginny leaned back against the table, a devilish smile swept over her freckled face. "Know what I think?" she asked popping a crisp into her mouth. "I think Ron only doesn't like me saying vagina," she bit another chip. "Because everyone in here has laid some claim to some, except him."

"You little…" Ron started.

"For the pitch, mate…get her back out there," Shamus said.

Dean laughed. "Yeah, now all you have to do is make sure your sister doesn't continue taking the piss out of you in the air and you'll be just golden."

They made their way to the field where their brooms waited, brought in earlier by Hermione and Ginny. Things had changed and there was a constant sense of danger, but they would make due. This was life for now.


	13. The Moon's Sway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione concocts a plan to give them the upper hand in the battle against the pack.

Sirius, Lily and James followed Ginny up to the seventh floor corridor. The thought of how odd it was to have this group behind her occurred to her before they actually arrived at the school. But after she and Hermione had told Dumbledore he insisted. No one else had the free period in the morning and would be able to stay up as late, that was why Ginny was stuck doing it.

"It's just at the end of this corridor, doesn't always show up the first try," Ginny said turning around to walk backwards as she talked to them.

"Can't believe there was a part of this place we didn't find," Sirius said.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I think you just give yourselves a little too much credit," she said. "This school is a thousand years old—a thousand years of secrets is a lot."

Right then Ginny thought how much the tone and her attitude toward the others reminded her of Hermione.

"I guess you're right. It's a shame that Moony couldn't make it," Sirius said. Lupin had been unable to make it as it was the first night of the full moon. The sounds and the howling outside of the school were enough to make Ginny quiver. While she didn't know where Lupin was, she could be sure that the barks and howls were not him—not all of them at least.

They reached the end of the hall and as Ginny suspected there was nothing there. "Usually it's right here," she said.

"You wouldn't be lying to get me up here, now would you Miss Weasley?" Sirius asked and Lily shot him a dark glance.

Ginny folded her arms indignantly. "Sorry, you're not my type," she said.

"Male?" Sirius asked with a sly smile spreading across his lips. 

"Old," Ginny replied. 

Sirius grabbed at his chest with one clutched hand. "Miss Weasley, you wound me!" he said with feigning shock. 

"Let's go around the corner here and then just come back, it might be here then," Ginny continued. 

"How did you find this?" asked James.

Ginny shrugged, glancing around nervously. "I just kind of…I needed to try out a new broom I had and I couldn't go outside with it, so…"

With her arms folded Lily chuckled and walked faster to catch up with Ginny. "You mean the new broom Harry gave you?" she asked. "Yes, despite what he might think—we know our son well."

A nervous laugh escaped Ginny. "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't…"

"Honestly I think Harry's a little sweet on her," said James with a sly smile.

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess James?" Sirius said pointing to Ginny and Lily.

The embarrassing realization of what Sirius meant washed over Ginny and Lily at the same time, they glanced at one another and their faces went flush. As they noticed the other looking, they tore their gazes away and continued around the corner. Quietly they circled around the seventh floor and made their way back from the other direction.

"There it is," Ginny pointed to pair of wooden, nondescript doors that appeared to have always been there.

"Well I'll be…" James jogged a little. "This wall was vacant on last pass," he adjusted his glasses.

Lily and Ginny arrived at the door next. "The Room of Requirement…I passed over the name once or twice in casual reading, but I never gave any thought to it. Especially not on how to find it," she said.

Sirius parted through them to open the doors. "Let's see what we have here," he paused inside of the room. "Oh, this will do…this will do perfectly."

The room was now the perfect classroom for practicing offensive and defensive spells. There were mirrors to make sure that each wand motion was correct and dummies to chuck spells at. There was even a dummy set up to bounce spells back to practice blocking and mats in case someone was stunned into the wall.

"It's not always like this…it's not always anything," said Ginny.

Lily cut in. "It's whatever is required of it by the user…hence the name," she said. "It can't make food or people, but anything you can do with magic it can do here for you…"

"You're brilliant, Ginny," James rubbed the top of her head. "You did good finding this…"

* * *

Hermione drifted through her classes, for the third night in a row she'd been haunted by nightmares. Most notable was the image of Ginny splayed out on the ground with her torso flayed open down to the bone with a rapidly spreading pool of blood soaking into the soil around her. She watched as the last flutter of consciousness left Ginny's body repeatedly in her head.

It was taking a toll on her and her rest.

With the increased need for the Room of Requirement as a staging place for the Self- Defense classes, it was harder and harder for her and Ginny to spend time alone anywhere. The school grounds were definitely out of the question as the howl of wolves had been heard off in the woods and it was nearing the full moon.

Half of the potions period passed with Hermione slumped against her arm as she worked over her cauldron. The cold air of the dungeon classroom stung at her eyes and her head throbbed from exhaustion.

"Miss Granger, do you need to attend the infirmary?" asked Snape from the front of the room.

It took Hermione a moment to recognize her own name. "Oh…sorry sir, I'm not feeling well—but no I'd rather finish my work," she said.

Snape narrowed his eyes. "I would rather have your best work to grade and not tripe that's been put together by ill witches and wizards," he flicked his wand and the contents of her cauldron were gone. "Make your way to Madam Pomfrey," he said.

She felt a knot in her chest and rose from her chair. "I'd—I'd rather not," she said. "Can you please return my potion?" the whole class was looking from her to Snape in shock. "Please?"

"Outside, now," Snape ordered her as he moved past her desk for the door. She would do anything he wanted, anything at all to not have to go to the infirmary. When they were out in the hall he closed the door and cast a charm on it. "Miss Granger, can you explain to me why you'd rather remain sick than attend the nurse?"

"I'm not sick."

"You missed the last two Self-Defense lessons, you've been less than awake in my class today and I haven't seen you at meal time in days…" Snape said.

"I just had some late nights," she said. "And I don't want to…I'm not going into the Infirmary."

Snape stared at her, his face going blank and then he glanced back. "You are to return to your common room, rest there and take the day and the next off from classes…if your condition worsens I will be forced to make you go to the Infirmary."

Hermione nodded and turned to walk off down the hall back to Gryffindor tower. The walk up to the tower felt longer and halfway there here legs grew sore. When she reached the Fat Lady's painting she uttered the password. "Begonias…" the portrait swung open revealing the porthole. She had been so out of it that it had slipped her mind that Ginny had a free period with Harry and Hannah Abbot right now.

Harry was on the couch next to Hannah playing a game of exploding snap, while Ginny sat in front of the fireplace stirring at the coals with some kind of movement spell from her wand. As she stepped into the room Harry glanced up. "You're not going to potions?" he asked.

"Snape put me out," Hermione said in a flat tone.

"Put you out?" Ginny whirled around to see Hermione. "What did you do?"

Hermione paused. "I think he was worried about me," she said.

"Rightfully so," Hannah said. "You've been waking up with those night terrors at all hours and crying in the middle of the night…" she glanced to Harry and Ginny. "Didn't she tell you?"

"Thank you, Hannah," Hermione said.

"Why are you crying at night?" Harry asked.

Hermione folded her arms over her chest rocking side to side nervously. "It's just these dreams," she said. "I can't sleep with them all," Hermione turned to head for the girl's dorms. "I'm going to go try like Snape said."

Ginny got to her feet in front of the hearth and walked over to Hermione. "You're having that much trouble sleeping?" she asked. "Just nap out here with us then," she suggested as she took Hermione around the shoulders and led her over to the long couch across from Harry and Hannah.

With Ginny sitting in the corner where the couch arm was, Hermione reclined back against her. The second she rested her head on Ginny's chest and heard the soft lull of her heart beating she realized exactly how tired she was. She flicked her eyes over to look at Harry who was now leaning off to one side reading a book while Hannah wrote something on her parchment.

Hermione blinked, her eyes were growing so heavy. She shut them. The soft smell of Ginny filled her nose as a soft peck was laid on her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, don't worry," she said.

It was obvious what Ginny meant, but Hermione couldn't help thinking of the dreams she had been having. Before she could analyze it any further she sunk into a deep slumber and dreamed of lying alone in a sunny field of lavender with Ginny.

* * *

There was no chance for Hermione to get anything resembling a good night's sleep. She filled her off periods and free time in the library, which there wasn't much of. She bounced between practicing with the Self-Defense classes, to studying for the N.E.W.T.S., to napping in the common room and then back to the library. Sure there was snacks and showers and the like in between, but her entire day was composed of keeping as busy as she could.

Once this regiment kicked in Ginny found that there was no time for her, and Hermione had noticed it. Perhaps if she had explained why she was so busy and what it was all for, Ginny would understand.

But if Ginny knew it was all for her, she wouldn't accept the help—no matter how important it was. And Hermione had taken care to hide the subjects that she looked up. Given the circumstances it wouldn't be too hard to figure out what someone was doing looking up anything and everything that she could find on werewolves while a pack of them roamed the grounds.

The breakthrough came late one evening when she read a passage that dealt with a solution that she didn't think anyone had considered. She marked the book with a piece of paper and stuffed it into her bag. It was slightly past eight and the halls were already empty as she made her way up to the Headmaster's office. She stopped at the statue outside of. "Open up," she called waving the book at the gargoyle. "I have an answer to our werewolf problem!" she added.

With a steady rumble, the statue slid away to reveal a door. She plowed through and up the revolving staircase to Dumbledore's office. "Sir, its Hermione—I needed to speak with you!"

There was a crash and he opened the door. "She's not with you?" he asked glancing around. "Ah, that's good—I didn't want Ginny in here scaring my bird again." Dumbledore smiled down at her. "What is it my girl?" he asked.

Hermione pried the book from her satchel and opened it, holding it out against her chest so that Dumbledore could read it. As he looked the page over, she recited what she could remember of the story. "In 1787 a witch named Lucretia Limewedge feinted a werewolf into a fight with some huntsmen, using a powerful ritual she conjured clouds and blotted out the sky, rendering them trapped in their human form…"

Disbelief spread over Dumbledore's face. "I never actually considered that before," he said. "It's utterly brilliant, we deprive them of the moon so that they don't transform…"

"It levels the playing field. The last time even Ginny was able to hurt Fenrir—if he's not in wolf form most of the danger isn't present," Hermione said.

"Have you told Miss Weasley what you were looking for?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that she would have let me, if that makes sense."

"Ah, yes. She seems to be rather independent, actually," said Dumbledore. "But I am sure that now she could see the reason for accepting your help," he added.

"I still worry she won't accept it," Hermione said.

Dumbledore nodded slowly and held a single finger up. "Perhaps you are right, but with this you can at least begin to get a normal night's rest…"

"How did you…"

"You've been increasingly tired and absent from meals, there have been reports of you napping in the library," he said.

She cleared her throat, lowering her head. "Sir, it's not just the research—there's been these dreams about Fenrir and Ginny. It's why I started looking for all of this searching for a way to help beat him."

"As is to be expected. Fenrir is the true definition of a monster—I think that even in my long life I have rarely seen one such as him," Dumbledore said.

There was an unnatural silence in the office for a moment and then Hermione locked eyes with him. "Even Grindelwald…sir?"

Dumbledore's lips straightened into a line and his expression sank. "Never has there been a Dark Wizard more dangerous than Grindelwald. But even he had his standards…he had rules and practices that kept him in line and in the end he didn't have to be killed to be brought to justice."

"He had rules?" she asked. "Everyone talks about how vile and evil he is. I would think his tolerance for injustice would be high."

Now Dumbledore was walking back across the office toward his book shelf. He plucked an old leather bound volume from above his head and walked back to Hermione. "The very motto that he lived by was 'for the greater good'," he said opening the book to point at an image of two smiling teenage boys. The blonde one was ruffling the others hair side to side in a continuous motion and the other one's eyes drifted upward toward his companion.

The eyes on the darker haired boy were all too familiar to Hermione. "That's you?" she asked.

"Indeed it is," Dumbledore said. "For a time, when I was young, only a little older than yourself, I was in a relationship with Grindelwald."

Hermione's mouth fell open. "You mean like…me and Ginny?"

He nodded slowly. "It was his opinion, and mine at the time, that wizards were superior and needed to be taxed with the protection of Muggles for their own good. The idea would have caused innumerable deaths, but it was 'for the greater good'. There's a similar Muggle concept, Utilitarianism, the good of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We thought we could protect the whole world with magic…"

"What happened?"

"There was a fight and my sister was killed in the crossfire, the details are—well they're too much to go into," he averted his eyes but she could see the beginnings of tears. "What Grindelwald had that Fenrir lacks is the idea that what he is doing is actually good. Fenrir does this because he wants to inflict pain. He wants others to suffer as he does, it's why he makes sure to cause as much suffering as possible before changing a person. Even if he wasn't meaning to kill her, Ginny might not survive if he were to get hold of her…"

A flash of Ginny's dead, bruised and bloody body from Hermione's dream passed through her mind again. She pushed the thought down. "So he's actually worse?"

"I'd say so," Dumbledore nodded. "His intention is chaos, pure and simple. While he doesn't have the power to terrorize an entire continent, he would sooner do so for fun, had he the ability."

With an understand nod Hermione smoothed her hand down over the book looking at the picture of the young Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. She glanced back up at the old man before her, some ninety-nine years older than the boy in the picture. Part of her wondered about herself, would she even live to be as old as he was?

Dumbledore spoke again as he took a seat at his desk. "Now I know we're training you in various forms of combat, those who want to be trained, but this isn't an invitation to open war against Fenrir's pack," he said.

"I understand," Hermione said closing her own book and slipping it back into her bags.

"That having been said, take this training very seriously," Dumbledore said. "I've actually arranged to have a special instructor come in tomorrow, bit of a surprise."

"Who is it?" asked Hermione.

"Well, Miss Granger, how would it be a surprise if I told you?" Dumbledore smiled.

* * *

Ginny was thankful for practice wands. Though spells cast by them still hurt, they were incapable of the potency of a cored wand. The nights Self-Defense Club meeting featured a live dueling partner and despite her unforgivable look, Ginny had learned that Bellatrix Lestrange was not to be toyed with.

Instead of starting off with a one on one duel, Bellatrix had strolled into the room and requested that she be challenged four to one. Ginny remembered the day that she had seen Snape with Bellatrix in the restroom and just drawn her conclusion from that.

Any woman who could find Snape sexy must be a proper nutter.

Ginny, Harry, Ron and Luna had stepped into the center of the Room of Requirement in front of Bella and in moments they had all been laid out. Her technique was fast and she cast spells before the wand even stopped moving from the last incantation. She moved like a dancer, twirling and ducking their charms and curses until she had closed the distance between them and rendered them disarmed and down.

"It's not fair," Ron groaned looking at Ginny.

Only a few feet from where Ron had fallen, Ginny sat rubbing her head. "She's got an unorthodox style is all, it's not impenetrable," Ginny said.

"Then let's see you get through," said Harry.

"You there, you're next?" Bellatrix pointed to Hermione.

James Potter nudged Hermione. "She's asking for you to come up, I think," he said.

"Me?"

"Yes, let's try it alone, though," Bellatrix said. "There's no telling how many of the filthy animals you'll be forced to fight," her eyes slipped toward Lupin.

Hermione walked to the center of the floor and accepted Ginny's practice wand. Just as she was preparing to bow, Bellatrix loosed a stunner that barely missed Hermione's shoulder.

"Bowing is for polite society—there's not such a thing between beasts!" Bellatrix whipped another curse toward Hermione and it was blocked.

A series of wand slashes and strikes passed between them. Bellatrix forced her back toward the door of the room. Hermione's hand came up and at the end of its movement she was disarmed. Her wand flipped into the air and landed next to Bellatrix.

"Who would like to try next?" Bellatrix asked.

Sirius chuckled from the side of the room where he waited beside Lily and James. Neville was about to raise his hand as Hermione pushed herself back to her feet and gathered another practice wand. "Again?" she said moving toward Bellatrix.

This time Ginny, Harry and Ron cleared the floor while Luna stood close by. The duel went longer this time and Hermione managed to duck behind one of the large columns in pursuit of cover. Bellatrix side stepped and stunned her in the back, knocking her to the ground.

Bellatrix swept the dark mane hair away from her bare shoulder with the wand and smiled. "Are you wanting to go again?" she asked watching Hermione climb to her feet.

Hermione just nodded.

"You're getting pummeled, Hermione. Let someone else have a go," Harry said.

"Sod off, Harry," she spat. Hermione pushed to her feet again.

"Oh, I like this one—she's just darling," Bellatrix said.

"You can do it, Mione!" shouted Ginny.

The duel broke out faster. Spells reverberated and clashed off of one another at rapid speed with bolts of colored energy sailing back and forth between them. As Bellatrix made a sweeping motion to cast, Hermione threw up her wand. "Protego!" the glimmer of shield charm shot up in front of her.

Bellatrix ducked under her own reflected spell. "You can't hide back there forever, Mione," she said the last part mockingly.

"You're right," Hermione aimed carefully at the back wall of the room. "Accio Dummy!" she shouted.

One of the wooden spell dummies stirred against the floor and then sailed through the air, slamming Bellatrix in the back and causing her to stumble forward. The dummy then smashed into the protection charm. Hermione stepped out to the side of her shield and whipped her wand upward, quickly. "Stupefy!"

Bellatrix was hit in the top of the head and sent sprawling to the floor, losing her wand in the process. "Good, you're learning," Bellatrix managed as she sat up. "I think I bit my tongue," she reached into her mouth. "What's your name?" she asked around her hand.

Hermione almost dropped to the floor in exhaustion. "Hermione Granger, ma'am," she said. Ginny ran out to help her back to the seats.

"Granger…Granger…" Bella repeated. "I don't think I know of your family. Pure-Blood? Half?"

"Muggle-Born," Ginny said. "She's probably the smartest girl in the school currently too," a proud smile spread over Ginny's face and right then Hermione wanted to hug her close.

Bellatrix paused as if she were thinking of something to say, but then her expression dropped. "Well that's very impressive," she said in a low tone. "The thing you all need to remember is that without a specific style and some format to whatever you're taught, it's just going to be a jumble of spells. Play to your strengths, but don't be predictable."

Lily smiled. "And do what Hermione here did; use your surroundings," she said, "Get creative."

Neville got his turn next and tried the same trick as Hermione. But Bellatrix stepped aside and the summoned dummy just flew up and hit him. After that, the older Wizards all took turns dueling Bellatrix and many of them had complications. They made a show of different techniques and ways around certain moves. Most of the duels were fought slow so that instruction could be given.

Except for Sirius's and James's.

When each of them had taken on Bella things seemed serious and both of those duels ended in stalemates. Though Sirius got his revenge: while Lily and Bella fought, he sent a well timed disarming charm at her, rendering her wand-less just as Lily cast her spell. Sirius chuckled to himself. "Sorry Bella, I had to."

Outside the rain was torrential and the wind howled as they exited the Room of Requirement. Hermione and Ginny were the last two into the hall. The meeting had run too long tonight because of the fun of dueling Bellatrix. As the adults headed out in front of them, bidding farewell, Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny hung back toward the back of the crowds.

They started the long walk back to Gryffindor tower in silence. Halfway back to the common room, Ginny stepped in close to Hermione's side and clasped her hand. "Are you going to ask him?" she said.

"Ask him what?" Ron asked. "Who is him?"

"None of your business," Ginny quipped.

Hermione sighed inwardly, shaking her head. "Harry, I need to ask you a favor—it's kind of big, though…"

"Anything. What is it Hermione?"

"Can you let me and Ginny sleep in your bed?" Hermione said. "Not with you in it, no I mean just let us borrow it."

"Why not just use the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "How would it look if we came rushing out of that room together in the morning?" she asked.

"Why don't you just sleep in the girl's dorm…seeing as how you're both girls?" Ron asked.

"Can't," Ginny started, "that git Lavender and her side-kick Parvati Patel will tell on us. They say we're snogging even when we're not."

"Harry please," Hermione said. "We're not going to—you know. I just have a hard time sleeping and I need to study for my N.E.W.T.S. and there's a lot of…"

"I don't mind, I'll just take the floor or something," Harry shrugged. "Used to have to go to my Aunt's and Uncle's when mum and dad had to work—they made me sleep in a cupboard. It can't be as rubbish as that," he gave a half smile.

Ron groaned, but made no other effort at protest.

The common room was empty when they arrived and it was easy to slip the girls into boys side of the dorms. Hermione had brought their clothes just in case and they changed on the other side of a standing room divider. When they were dressed for bed, Hermione climbed under the covers next to Ginny. Harry was already sleeping on the floor near the window of the tower.

Ginny lay there silently for a moment looking at the small glimmer of light that could be seen in Hermione's eyes. The storm outside was more intense and a clap of thunder rocked the castle. They laid in the darkness staring at each other with only the occasional flicker of lightning and Neville's dim bedside lantern to provide any illumination.

"Mione?" Ginny said in a whisper after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

She inched in for a kiss and her hand grasped Hermione at the back. Their lips locked and they stayed pressed together for a long time. Another clap of thunder and they parted. "I've missed you these last few days…" Ginny said.

"Sorry, but it wasn't in vain," Hermione said.

"What wasn't?"

"I found something to help us incase Fenrir attacks…I found out that we can block the moon's sway over the battle. That's something right?"

Ginny grasped the front of Hermione's night shirt and tugged her roughly forward, kissing her again. But this kiss was forceful, passionate and Hermione clasped Ginny's hands over her breasts and lay still as if frozen. "I love you, like I honestly love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Gin."

"That's it," Ginny said rolling over to fish under the bed.

"What?"

"We're getting the cloak out and throwing up the Muffliato charm."

"We told Harry we wouldn't, Ginny!" Hermione whispered, her words dripped with desperation. Ginny could tell by the half smile on her lips that she wanted to, though.

Ginny sighed. "Really Hermione, we could shag on Harry's back and he wouldn't get mad," she pointed to Harry. "Look at him, he's sleep and he's wearing that Muggle radio thing, the mePad he called it?"

Even the low light, Ginny could hear the grimace in Hermione's voice as she uttered the incantation for the Muffliato charm. "How do I let you talk me into these things?"

Ginny chuckled as she pulled the Invisibility Cloak over them and tackled Hermione to the bed. "It's just because you think I'm…" Ginny went to speak but Hermione reared up to kiss her, cutting her off.


	14. The Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron picks a fight with Hermione. Harry gets detention.

A playful nibble on the nape of Hermione's neck awakened her. She sighed and drew her shoulder up to shield her neck. "Ginny…" she whined groggily.

Ginny pinned Hermione's hands against the bed and leaned in to kiss her. "I thought that would wake you up," she said with a smile.

"You really like to bite," Hermione said as they kissed. "I think I'm going to be sore for days," Hermione tangled her leg in with Ginny's and lay pinned back to the bed with long red tendrils of hair brushing across her face. "Don't you think we should hurry and go shower?

"We should," she said.

"Well we need to send Harry or Ron to check the common room," Hermione said.

Ginny sat up, straddling Hermione's body and let the cover fall bunched up behind her. She struggled to find her night shirt among the sheets and for a moment Hermione was actually distracted. Silhouetted in the light of the early morning sun, Ginny's blanched skin appeared luminous. She moved in ponderous motions work the shirt over her head, then shoulders and tugging it around her breasts.

There was a familiar voice from across the room. "I can do it, Ginny," Neville was staring at them. "If you don't mind…"

"Thanks, Neville," Ginny absently said as she continued to put her shirt on. Hermione was shocked by her confidence and composure. She couldn't imagine dressing in front of all them and she made an effort to use Ginny as a distraction. Hermione slipped back into her shirt as Neville bolted from the room.

The thunder of his feet across the floor must have awakened Ron. "What are you doing?" he asked catching the tail end of Ginny's 'show'.

"Getting dressed," Ginny said. "Gotta get an early start."

Ron sighed inwardly. "I thought that was a nightmare last night, you really slept in Harry's bed?" he yawned at the end of his sentence, making it somehow seem less pressing to Hermione.

Ginny's brown eyes locked with Hermione's and a slim devilish spread over the younger girl's face. She ratcheted her head around toward Ron. "Oh that's not all we did," she said slyly.

Slapping his hands over his ears, Ron cried out. "Why are you telling me these things?"

"Why are you yelling?" came Harry's voice from the floor.

"Sorry Harry," Hermione said. "Thanks for letting us use your bed—I really couldn't get any sleep in mi…" she was cut off by Ron yelling.

"Ginny and Hermione had sex in your bunk," Ron said.

Harry lay with his face half buried in the pillow and his eyes still closed. He spoke without moving anything but his mouth. "You're welcome, Hermione…I can't be arsed to care, Ron…its too early for this and I don't have class," he said.

"We'll be out of your hair in a moment," Ginny said. "You want a present for your trouble, Harry?"

"No," he answered staying in the same position.

"I'll give you my bra…" Ginny said as she flashed a smile at Ron.

Harry didn't move. Ginny wrenched her arms back into her shirt and worked the bra off. "What's taking Neville so long," Hermione said.

Ginny tossed the bra down to Harry hand and he grabbed it and fell still again. "Why are you acting like this? You think mum wants to hear you've gone and turned into a slag?"

Hermione shot up from the bed so quickly and with such force that she knocked Ginny back. "What did you call her?"

"Stay out of this, Hermione," Ron said.

"I won't stay out of this, I said you need to repeat what you called her," Hermione said.

"Not repeating it."

"Because you know it was an awful thing to say. It was crude and not nice…"

Ginny cut Hermione off. "Really, Mione—come off it," she said.

"Bollocks, Ginny. I'm sick of Ron's rubbish. You're not a ten year old following us around the train station or the little first year pinning over Harry…"

"In my defense, I didn't know," came Harry's voice from the still lump of covers.

"Duly noted," Hermione said. "Even then, Ron can't continue to treat you like this. I won't allow it!"

"Bah, you going to shout big words at me till my brain goes all fuzzy?" Ron asked.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I know enough hexes to leave you in the infirmary into the next school year, now apologize to Ginny."

"Make me," Ron said.

Ginny sat up and moved to sit at the end of the bed. Neville was now standing in the doorway, his pale face laden with shock. Hermione leveled her wand at Ron. "I said apologize," she repeated.

"How lovely, it seems we've decided to have an early morning party of some sort," Snape's catarrhal tone cut through the air. Neville jumped as he realized that the Potions Professor was inches from his back. "We've got Miss Weasley and Granger in Potter's bed together," he glanced at them as he passed.

Hermione's head sunk. "We were just here because of my nightmares and—"

Snape held up a hand to silence her. "Then there's Mister Longbottom, peering around the common room as if hiding for some reason. And you, Mister Weasley shouting and causing a disturbance in the dormitories at this hour, I know that you might not be planning to pass your N.E.W.T.S. but try not to hinder anyone else from it…"

Harry still hadn't moved. "Why is Snape in here?" he asked, his voice muffled in covers.

"And Mister Potter, on the floor in the center of a dormitory. Tell me do you know why we make beds?" he asked.

"I'm…sleeping…" Harry said.

Snape walked over to Harry's side and kicked him lightly. "Beds are there so that people won't be laying about the floors like vagabonds. The way you're laying is a fire hazard, Mister Potter and despite thinking yourself to be fireproof, other students might not want to be burned alive…"

Hermione waited for it, the inevitable point deduction—her last year and they would surely not be getting the House Cup after this.

"Detention, Potter. A week's worth."

"Bloody Hell, it's not even breakfast yet!" Harry growled.

"Week and a half," Snape said as he turned to leave the room.

Once he was safely out of earshot everyone glanced to one another. "How does he keep getting in the tower?" asked Hermione.

Ron and Hermione's spat lasted longer than the detentions Harry had been sentenced to. After two weeks they weren't talking and term was only two months from ending. Ginny couldn't be mad at Hermione for what she had said, Ron was out of line and he relentlessly poked fun at her. But the thought that this was going to come back and nip her in the end.

If Ron sent an owl to their mum, Ginny could expect to get a howler in the mail. She had only received one of the screaming letters in the past and it had been enough. She couldn't even clearly remember how it happened, but the letter itself had been enough. Being called a lesbian in front of the whole school, despite most of them knowing it, was still a bit much for her.

She kept her distance from Ron and went about studying for her O.W.L.S., they had started their Apparaiton lessons earlier in the term too. She had already started to get the hang of it and Apparating hadn't added anything to her work load, at least.

Ginny had been working in the library most of the afternoon. Harry was serving new detentions and she feared that Ron might start up with Hermione if they were in the common room together. When the last tinges of light were fading from the sky, she headed back to the dormitories. The halls were already silent except for the creepy old Auror, Mad-Eye Moody prowling through.

It was a full moon again.

She said nothing to him as she passed. As she got back to the staircase outside of the common room she found Luna Lovegood sitting on the bottom riser with her wand tucked behind her ear and her face hidden behind a copy of The Quibbler. She looked up as Ginny approached. "Oh, hi Ginny, lovely evening—isn't it?"

"Hey Luna. I guess—uh what are you doing way over here?"

"I came to ask you something," Luna closed the magazine and stood up, glancing around. "It's about Harry, you see," she said in her light-hearted, airy manner.

"Oh—you think he's infected with one of your snarkley-farkle-finks?" Ginny said with a dismissive gesture.

"Hm, I don't think I know what that is. But if he's infected—I would think I might have figured it out by now," Luna said.

"Luna, you're always—well you can always cheer me up," Ginny said flashing a smile.

Luna didn't seem to take this comment into consideration as she sighed and lowered her head slightly. Even that small gesture of sadness was a lot from Luna Lovegood. She was ever-cheerful. A total optimistic when others just couldn't be. Besides being a gifted witch she was just a good friend. Now Ginny was seeing something new of Luna.

Her pale face was downturned and she stared down at where the hem of her skirt crossed her knee as if she expected it to change significantly. Ginny dropped to her knee on the step next to Luna and grasped shoulder. "What's the matter, Luna?"

"I guess it's something I haven't had to deal with at all," Luna said slowly.

"What?"

"How would I know if I loved Harry?" asked Luna in a voice so small it barely seemed like her own. "I haven't got much of a mind for these things, but you seem to know him and other boys," now her voice was light and carefree again.

Ginny spun to sit down on the step. "What made you think this way about him?" she asked.

Luna shrugged. "Not sure, really. He was the first boy who didn't seem to care that everyone thought I was crazy. He's never once called me Loony…"

Ginny brushed Luna's white-blonde hair away from her face with the back of her hand. "Loony is a lovely name, despite what it means, it's just cute."

"When we were third years…Harry took me to the Yule Ball, remember?" Luna asked.

"He was so scared if he didn't go that he'd be made fun of and he was scared to go alone," Ginny said with a laugh. "I remember."

"He said 'just friends' then," Luna said. "I don't know if he still feels like that," she added.

Tilting her head to the side, Ginny took on a sympathetic tone and rubbed Luna over the shoulder. "I don't know, we're going to find out. I will come up with a way for you to get a chance to talk to him about it," she said.

"Really?"

Ginny nodded. "I guess the Quibbler doesn't say much about how to meet young Wizards and catch them, does it?"

"There was a bit on how to find Stubby Boardman, the lead singer of the Hobgoblins—we still think Sirius Black might be him, in disguise," Luna said.

"I see," Ginny chuckled. "Come on Luna, I'll walk you back to the tower."

* * *

The most simplistic thing started it. Hermione sat reading near the fireplace in the common room when Ron clambered through the dormitory doors and took the steps three at a time to get down quickly. He swung off the last riser to hit the wooden floor hard. Raising his wand he slung it at Hermione before she could even tell what was going on.

"Expelliarmus!"

With a sudden jerk the book in Hermione's hands flipped up into the air and sailed through the air toward Ron. He snatched it from the air and slammed it shut. "Alright, you've gone too far!" Ron yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Give me back my book," Hermione said with a snarl.

"Not till you tell me what you did with it," Ron said. "Just who do you think you are?"

Hermione stood up from the chair. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ron. I didn't do anything," Hermione said.

"Bollocks. Don't try to lie your way out of this Hermione—I know only you'd take it!" Ron screamed.

"What was it?"

"Merlin…" Ron said quietly, he glanced side to side to see if there were any witnesses. The common room was empty.

"Merli—your stuffed bear?" Hermione suddenly remembered the little stuffed bear Ron carried. He hid it in his trunk and she was sure only she and Harry knew of it.

Ron nodded nervously. "You took him and I want him back, now."

"I didn't touch him, Ron—I swear," Hermione said.

"Yeah. Whatever," he stepped closer to her and thrust the book into her arms. "Take your stupid book back," he said. "You know he's important to me, you took him to get back at me for Ginny."

"I didn't take him."

"Don't see why not, you took Ginny, turned her against me…" Ron said.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You turned her against you by being an utter arse. Just like you're doing right now."

"Oh come off it, Hermione. You probably set up that stupid ploy to steal Merlin—telling Harry that you two needed to use his bed."

In an instant, the other things in the room didn't matter and Hermione was charging the short distance toward Ron. She had dropped her book and her feet pounded at the common room floor. She swung her fist hard into Ron's jaw, catching him off guard and staggering him and then she tackled him to the ground. His wand clattered away to land under a chair.

"You're the worst, Ron. Really," she was crying suddenly and it didn't matter that the door to the common room had just opened or that she had just punched her friend of seven years. "You always just make me feel awful!" 

Ron's eyes were wide and he stared up at her, almost frightened.

"I slept in the boy's dormitories because I was having nightmares about your sister being ripped to pieces by bloody werewolves and I had been toiling day and night to figure out how to avoid that. You never worry about us or how we are, you're so selfish and it's maddening—really," Hermione said. "I love your sister, deal with it and stop trying to punish us for it," she sobbed.

A soft hand touched Hermione's back and she turned just in time for Ginny to hug her close. "I don't know what to say to that," Ginny said.

Ron writhed his way from under the distracted Hermione and collected his wand. He walked for the door of the dormitories, pausing for a moment to glance back at his sister hugging his friend, and kissing his friend. Then he turned and walked up the steps into the boy's dorms.


	15. What Was Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going missing around the castle and no one knows why.

In her newfound quest to avoid Ron at all costs, Hermione had been sneaking up to the Astronomy tower to read by candle light after hours and then slipping back down the corridors to the dormitories to go to sleep. It was the one place no one ever came to after classes were over.

It was five nights of being at the top of the tower before she ever heard another person moving about. She had time to take the steps back down to the tower's lower levels and hide. She hoped it was just some students coming to make out or something. Hermione crouched in the dark corner of the tower beneath the staircase just out of reach of the moon. Quietly she shut the book and watched the door.

It opened to reveal the imposing figure of Dumbledore following by a shorter, sulking figure. She peered out of her corner as they took the steps and then she heard the voice. "Why have you requested we come up here, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'd like to tell you this in total confidence, without the threat of those portraits hearing," Snape shot back.

Dumbledore sighed. "Is this about Bellatrix?" he asked.

"The portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black hangs in the household kept by that wretched family and he may very well alert Bellatrix or one of her kin to our true goal," Snape said.

"Now you know that Phineas, like all of the old Headmaster's portraits, is bound to the current Headmaster," Dumbledore said.

Snape scowled, they reached the top of the tower. "I don't trust it anymore. I don't think you have any cause for this spying. Bellatrix seems to have a healthy hatred of Muggle-borns, she wouldn't intentionally hurt them. She just doesn't like them."

"Hatred can rarely be said as healthy," Dumbledore said. "It consumes us and leaks through the veins like poison."

"Why then did you trust me to look in on her, wasn't there an easier way?" asked Snape.

"Bellatrix's nature made it the easiest way in. Your connection to her and Lily Potter made you the perfect one. Remember, you said you'd do whatever it took…" Dumbledore said.

At the mention of Harry's mother, Hermione scooted closer to the light to listen.

"I thought I had been forgiven that long ago," said Snape.

"You, Bellatrix and the others made it an active effort to harm Muggle-borns at this school by releasing Slytherin's Basilisk…" Dumbledore started.

"You don't have to remind me," Snape said.

"…and when the monster was loose and you found out that Bellatrix had planned to release it on Lily—you begged me to help you contain the thing. You begged me to keep your secret from Lily and that you would work to do whatever you could to protect Muggle-born's from then on out…"

"I know, but sleeping with Bellatrix—" Snape sighed. "It was my infatuation with Lily that originally caused Bellatrix to target her and almost got her killed."

"And your pretending to be infatuated with Bellatrix now could give us vital information about whether or not she's planning to hurt any Muggle-borns now," Dumbledore said.

Snape's voice changed rapidly, he was screaming now. "She's not! She's not even mentioned it and she has no idea it was I who told on the plot back then. In fact she hasn't mentioned the monster at all!"

"Realize Severus, I saved more than Lily that night. I saved you from being branded in the same ilk as Tom Riddle—someone who murdered a fellow student with pride and went on to try and frame another…" Dumbledore said. "You, Bellatrix and the others could be rotting in Azkaban right now, along with Riddle. I stopped it and I protected you here, but if you wish to go on the record as saying that you think Bellatrix is harmless now—I will take your word for it…"

"Sir, I can't do it anymore. She's not the one I love. I didn't love her back then," Snape said.

"…but if you leave this post and Bellatrix harms one Muggle-born, I shall be taxed with telling the whole story to the Ministry. Think of Lily, and what would have happened if she hadn't been saved…do you want that fate to befall another person?"

Snape was silent for a long time. "I shall get the information you need, three weeks time. I shall get it out of her, one way or another. This duty is killing me. I can't stand to think of her as anything close to a lover," Snape paused. "She's penance for something. She's just something to be whipped and abused…for what she tried to do to Lily."

"Well then it is good news for us that she likes whipping and abuse," Dumbledore said.

"But if she discovers…she could try and harm you or retaliate by attacking you…" Snape said.

Dumbledore laughed. "Then let's hope for her sake she's got the element of surprise on her side. It's been some time since I had to duel for my life…but three Bellatrix Lestranges wouldn't be enough to make me fear her…"

"Indeed, sir," Snape said.

They started for the steps and Hermione crept back against the corner into the darkness, clutching her book and trying to process what she had heard. Snape and Dumbledore—working together to entrap Bellatrix Lestrange?

Snape loved Harry's mother?

It was all too much and then there was the stuff about Slytherin's Monster, the Basilisk…she had to look up what it meant.

* * *

When she was sure the coast was clear, Hermione sprinted down the corridors back toward Gryffindor tower. She had to tell Harry…wait, she had to tell Ginny. Harry would probably go into a rage and attack Snape and she didn't want it to come back and cause trouble later. She charged through the halls, ignoring her usually cautious nature. Moody or Tonks or one of the other Aurors might be about, but she didn't care.

As she turned the corner into the main corridor to crossover to the other wing of the castle she froze. There was a hulking animalistic figure standing in the center of the hall. Its read eyes gleamed at her and she tightened her grasp around her books, too afraid to move. It let out a short rumbling growl as its hair covered form moved into the moon light.

The creature sniffed the air and was gone. In its place there was a crumpled form on the ground with a pool of spreading blood working its way over the floor. Hermione inched forward and pulled her wand. She checked the hall for the creature but couldn't call out. Her voice wouldn't let her. The body on the floor lay still and the blood seemed to have moved an impossible distance from it, spreading like a crimson halo.

How could so much blood have come from someone so small?

Then Hermione noticed the disfigured, horrified face. The once beautiful, brown eyes now imbued with a fear of something large and terrible. She recoiled back, the chest had been split open and the clothes were tattered and torn. There wasn't a hint of the freckled pale skin below the shredded neck that wasn't covered with blood.

"Ginny!" Hermione sobbed, running toward the body and throwing any caution out the window. "Ginny! No…" her mind rushed but she couldn't settle on a single thought except Ginny. As she neared the body, Ron stepped into the hallway and knocked Hermione back to the ground.

"Stay back, Hermione!" he yelled. She fought him, clawing at his arms and neck as he tried to hold her to the floor. Ron was stronger; he pressed her to the ground and put his knee against her to hold her there. "Stop it!" he growled.

Hermione cried out. "She's dying! You're willing to let your own sister die?"

Ron sprung to his feet, turned to the place where Ginny lay and slung his wand at it. "Riddikulus!" he yelled.

What had once been Ginny's battered body turned into a giant spider wearing roller skates and stumbling uncontrollably down the halls. Hermione sat up, staring in disbelief at the spider. "A…a Boggart?" she asked wiping the tears away from her face. "How did you…" Hermione asked.

"Spider's too big to fit into the castle, so it must have been smaller when it came in. At least that's what I figured," Ron said as he reached out to help her up. The Boggart retreated and was gone from sight, seeming to have just vanished.

"Yeah…that makes sense," Hermione said.

Ron pulled Hermione in close and hugged her. "So you care about her that much…even enough to lose all reason like that. I mean it's not even the full moon now."

I must look like an idiot; the full moon was last week…

"I understand, you care about her," Ron said. "I guess I should have just seen it sooner," Ron added.

"I do, I really care," Hermione was still shaken up. She wanted to get up to the tower and burst into Ginny's room just to kiss her and make sure she was still there.

"Mione," Ron said. "Ginny is a special case. Every since I could remember my mum would tell me I had to protect her and look out for her—I guess I got carried away. So I'm sorry." Hermione was crying now. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "I just want to go up and check on her—I need to be sure, really," she said.

Ron cracked a smile. "Let's walk back together, okay?"

The thoughts of what to do about Snape and Dumbledore seemed to have been settled suddenly, she didn't know why, but she understand Snape. Maybe it was because she realized what love did to people. She wouldn't tell Harry or Ginny…she was going to go to Snape herself.

* * *

Ginny was sitting amongst a few other students in the common room when the portal opened and Hermione and Ron clambered in. She looked up, shocked. Though for some reason Hermione seemed more surprised. She rushed Ginny and tackled her back to the couch, hugging her tight. A slight shriek erupted from Ginny. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Other students in the room stared for a moment and then looked away.

"I'm just glad to see you is all," Hermione said. "Ron and I made up," Hermione shot a glance to Ron and Ginny could see something pass between them, something secret. She didn't know what.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, we just had to, you know, talk it out is all," he said.

"You look a little shaken up, Mione, you okay?" asked Ginny.

"I'm fine, probably just been studying too much," she said.

Ginny kissed her on the forehead. "Go get some rest then, you're going to burn yourself out," she said.

Hermione nodded and ascended the stairs. "Come in and tell me…before you go to bed," she said. "Just wake me if you have to," she added.

Ginny nodded.

When she was gone Ron pushed through the other students, kissed Ginny on the cheek sighed. "I'm turning in too, Gin. I just wanted to tell you, you've found a wonderful girl."

His statement had shocked Ginny too much for her to respond and before she could he was in the boys dormitories.

* * *

Ginny flung the contents of her trunk onto the floor of the dormitory and hunted through the things present. There was no chance it could fit in the small space the trunk provided, but she had run out of places to check. It wasn't anywhere to be found and to her knowledge there hadn't been anyone out of the ordinary in the dorms.

Harry is going to kill me.

She flopped onto the bed and buried her face against the pillows. The last Quidditch game was approaching and here she was with a missing broomstick. A very expensive missing broomstick. Lifting her head she glanced around the dorm room, the floor was strewn with her possessions all bathed in midday light.

Among them all there was no broomstick to be found.

"Ginny? What's the matter?" it was Lavender Brown's voice.

"I just can't find something…" Ginny said.

"Maybe I've seen it?" she asked.

Ginny shook her head. "No, it was my broomstick and I'm sure it was right here next to the bed. I don't let it out of my sight," Ginny replied.

"Heh, that's strange," Lavender said.

"What is?"

"Well, there are all these disappearances in Hogsmead and Hermione's wand went missing this morning," Lavender said.

Ginny clambered out of the bed toward Lavender. "What? Her wand is missing?"

Lavender nodded. "And I don't have to tell you how Hermione is with her things, she's pretty neat," she said.

The dorm was silent for a moment as Ginny pulled her jumper on. "Alright then," Ginny said. "Where's Hermione?

"She ran to Dumbledore's—she was crying too. I mean it is pretty embarrassing. No students ever lost their wand that I know of. Maybe she should just ask Longbottom…" Lavender said.

Ginny sighed. "Yes we all know Neville's got a perfect memory," it was really quite uncanny, Neville never forgot anything. "I have to go to the Headmaster's—when she leaves she's going to need someone to talk to," Ginny said.

Lavender grimaced. "Oh, when you see her, tell her I hope she finds it," she said.

* * *

Myrtle's bathroom had been the perfect place to gather herself, no one would expect crying to not be coming from there. Waves of distress ebbed back and forth as Hermione sat atop the closed toilet. She didn't want to be crying when she went to Dumbledore. It was embarrassing to be an eighteen year old woman who was still crying like this.

Hermione was careful with her things and good at keeping up with them. She was meticulous about wand more than anything. Wands don't just vanish. Nothing about it made sense. She had used the wand earlier that day for a few mundane castings and all of a sudden it was just gone.

The tears hadn't slowed. She sobbed into her hands for what seemed like an eternity before a squeaky voice called out from in front of her. "Come here to mock me, I see?" Myrtle asked.

"No Myrtle, I've lost something," Hermione sobbed.

"Lost something? I suppose you think it's funny that I've got nothing to lose. I won't care, right. Myrtle's dead, she doesn't have any possessions anymore. I see how it is."

Hermione glared up at her through red-rimmed eyes. "Myrtle! Myrtle! Myrtle! Your selfish little git, everything's not about you, you know?"

"Well!" Myrtle stuck her nose up. "I was going to tell you a secret, but I see you can't be considerate, so I'll be going now." Myrtle made it a point to pass through Hermione and go into the toilet. As the ghost touched her, a feeling like she had been injected with gallons of ice water coursed through her.

For a long time she was in the bathroom alone. One of the faucets somewhere in the room dripped. Hermione lifted her face to stare at the green door of the bathroom stall. She sat motionless for a short time thinking of how she could get a new wand. How did one even do that? All of the years she had been at Hogwarts and not once had she heard of such a thing.

The door to the bathroom swung open and the slow determined footsteps seemed to have too much purpose to them. They weren't Ginny, didn't even seem to be female. Then the muttering confirmed her suspicions. "This has gone on long enough…I need to end it," it was Severus Snape.

Hermione got to her feet and pushed the stall door open so that it banged into the wall. "Professor Snape," she said as she stepped out.

"Granger, what are you doing in here?" he asked.

"I was…well…I have to talk to you," she said.

"What about Granger? I'm a very busy man."

"Indeed," Hermione said wiping the back of her hand across her eyes. "Spying on Bellatrix Lestrange must keep you held up," she said and Snape whirled around to face her, his large nostrils flared in fury. "I know about how you and Bellatrix planned to release Slytherin's monster…I also know what stopped you," she said.

Snape seized her by the arm and twisted it back to push her against the stalls. "How?" he shouted. "Tell me!"

Hermione wrenched her arm away from his grasp and side stepped out of his face. "I overheard it." she paced around to his side. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I haven't," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that I think I understand."

"You are so sure that you know everything, Miss Granger. You understand little of that which truly counts, what you know amounts to repeating facts from books that you've memorized. That's to say nothing of the real world."

"You loved Lily Potter and would have done anything to protect her—who are you to say I wouldn't do the same for Ginny?" asked Hermione.

Snape's upper lip quivered and he glanced around. "Your infatuation with Ginny Weasley may, now, seem like something of the greatest importance but…"

"How long ago did you know you loved Lily Potter—you were here at Hogwarts so you couldn't have been much older than me," said Hermione.

"Yes, but that's different."

"Only because you want it to be."

"Miss Granger, there are some things that you will never understand. Growing up how you did and where you did, they will just not sink in."

"Try me then," Hermione said.

Snape shot a sideways glance to the door as if he was waiting for someone. "I met Lily before I started here and we were friends. I caught her showing that dreadful sister of hers magic that she had some control over. After I explained what she was we became fast friends, though it was always more from my end. We were sorted into separate houses and though we decided to stay friends, the pull of the differences between the Houses took a toll on us. In my third year Bellatrix and some of our other friends had a plan to do something that had only been once before, by Tom Riddle…"

"…release the monster beneath the school?" Hermione asked.

Snape nodded. "I didn't know what the consequences would be until it was too late, when we let it out and Bellatrix claimed that all the Muggleborns would die, starting with Lily Potter, I had to do something," he paused shaking his head and averting his gaze. "Dumbledore vanquished the beast himself and kept the whole mess silent," he pointed to a circular collection of sinks near the middle of the room. "The creature lies in a chamber hidden below the school, the entrance is just right there…"

Hermione looked the area over and then turned back to face Snape. "You never told Lily what happened? Did you?" she asked.

"I couldn't and the other Slytherin students could never know. Bellatrix had wanted her dead, I think because of me. So I withdrew from them for a long time. In anger I lashed out at Lily, blaming her for my mistake and I called her Mudblood and told her that she should go worship that ludicrous show off, Potter like the rest of the school. When he took offense to my calling her a name, he attacked me and she still stuck up for me. In the end she even agreed to go on one date with him if he stopped teasing me…" Snape sighed.

"And that date turned into, well…Harry and Heather?"

"And a marriage, and years of loving commitment," Snape turned away from Hermione. "All I wanted was her safety."

Hermione sighed. "She's still your friend," she said. "And protecting someone, that's what love is right?"

"Wrong, Miss Granger. You couldn't be more wrong. Love is loss and regret. Its pain and its wishing you could do things differently," Snape said. "You can't protect anything forever. When you watch the one you love leave, then you tell me about love." he brushed past Hermione toward the door of the bathroom.

"Ginny won't leave," Hermione said. "You didn't let Lily leave…"

Snape froze at the turn to leave the restroom. "No. But I might as well be dead and she hasn't even noticed how I feel," he paused for a long time. "Never tell anyone of this or speak to a soul about it."

Hermione nodded. "I…I understand," she said. For a moment Hermione couldn't move. Snape's voice echoed through her head and she couldn't help but think about loss. Her wand didn't seem so important anymore. Snape seemed to be a man who had lost everything and she thought that briefly if even just one person knew what he went through, they would feel differently about him.

But she knew it would be wrong to tell anyone. Hermione washed her face and headed back out into the hall. She had left the common room too long ago just to tell Dumbledore about her wand and she was sure the others would be worried.

* * *

"This is a stupid idea, guys—we're going to get caught," Neville said.

"Blimey, Neville, the only thing you seem to be good for is remembering stupid shit and worrying," Ron said as he peeked around the corner. "Don't you want to get some pie?" he asked. "I guess I see how you lost all that pudge."

Ginny and Hermione were clutched together further back in the line. "Don't pick on him Ron, Neville you look handsome…"

A beaming smile lit up Neville's face.

Hermione folded her arms over her chest. "Why have you dragged us out here in the dead of night and what are we waiting for?"

"We're going to get some bloody pies," Harry said. "And Luna wanted to come, so I told her she could."

Ginny knew exactly why Luna wanted to be there, but she didn't say. She hadn't even told Hermione.

"You want us to break into the kitchens and steal the pies for tomorrow?" asked Hermione. "That's your great plan?"

"Yeah, but we have to do it old school," Harry said. "No Apparation because I don't know how to drop the field and no Portkey because someone wouldn't teach me how…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I was just arrested for that, I'm not teaching you to do it!"

"I'm not sure I understand what's old school," said Neville.

"Muggle saying," Hermione said.

"I picked it up from Dudley," Harry added.

"Here comes Loony," Ron pointed.

"Ron, don't call her that!" Ginny slapped his hand.

"Hello, all," Luna said. "Hi, Harry," she added at the end.

"This way everyone, there's too many of us to fit under the cloak so we're going to have to keep close together and use the map…" Harry said. "Hey Luna," he added absently.

Luna clambered into the huddle next to Ginny. "Was that good?" asked Luna.

Ginny nodded to her, not sure what to say. The group made their way down to the entrance to the kitchens. Shockingly enough the path seemed to be clear as Harry didn't say anything about Filch or Miss Norris as he directed them. "Over there a little ways," Harry said.

"You might want to consider a career as a leader in something, Harry," Luna said.

"Yeah…sure Luna…" he said with a grin.

Neville's stomach growled. "Okay, so now I want to get there faster, how much further Harry?" he asked.

"The map's gone all wonky, this can't be right?" Harry said bringing the Marauder's Map up closer to his face.

"What is it, mate?" asked Ron.

"Huh, I guess it's nothing…it just vanished," Harry said. "Come on, this way…" he paused as his eyes met something in front of the statue of the one eyed witch, the same statue that guarded the passage Ginny and Hermione were going to take into Hogsmead before. "Look, there!"

"Merlin!" Ron cried out running to snatch up a small stuffed bear dressed in dull blue robes. He clutched the bear close. "I mean…how did this get here?"

"He's adorable Ronald," Luna comforted him.

"My wand and Ginny is that..." Hermione ran to pick up her wand and Ginny's Firebolt.

"You lost it?" asked Harry.

"Yes, earlier today, I was scared to tell you—obviously someone brought these things here, though," Ginny said.

Neville touched the statue, looking over the one eyed face that glared down at him. "Any chance they want us to check through here?" he asked.

"Fairyfolk," Luna said suddenly. "They steal things constantly and play games with the owners…"

"That's actually true, but why would they take these things and wouldn't they show on the map?" asked Hermione.

Luna shrugged.

The hall was silent for a moment and then there was a scraping sound, so vague at first that it could have been imagined. Ginny whirled to look at the faces of the others for signs that they sensed it too. Neville gasped. "Do you hear it?" he said. "I think someone's trapped behind this statue…"

"We have to get them out!" Ginny cried.

"I'm trying…I'm trying," Harry fumbled for his wand but Hermione already had hers up.

"Dissendium!" she said with a whip of her wand.

"The map…it doesn't show anyone," Ron said.

Ginny looked from him to Harry. "What's that mean?"

"Fairyfolk," Luna repeated.

As the statue turned to reveal the passage to the cellar of Honeydukes the scraping grew louder. Then there was a creak and a wretched hand swiped out through the opening. Everyone moved back as a ghoulish creature clambered through the darkness into the light of the hall. Its eyes glowed a putrid green color and its body was sunken and slick with back skin. The things boney jaw unhinged and its mouth opened to an impossible range as it let out a mournful cry.

Another of the things poured out of the opening and before long there were more. Harry fired a bolt into one but it had little effect and the next one stumbled in to take its place. The things shambled from the passage until there were more than a dozen.

Ginny shot a glance to the map; everyone was on the other wing of the school or sleep. There was no time to run for help. She glanced down at the broom, maybe she didn't need to run?

"What do we do?" asked Neville.

As the things shambled toward them with ragged clothing clinging to their forms, a dark thought crossed Ginny's mind. "These things…they used to be human…" she said. "Stupefy!" she yelled as a bolt hit one of the creatures square in the chest. The thing she hit tumbled backward, but climbed back to his feet.

These were the people…they're the ones Lavender mentioned as missing from the village. They came right from Hogsmead.

One of the things grabbed hold of Luna and she beat it back with a quick stunner to the face. She spun to back up against Harry and Ron.

"I can run to get help!" Ginny said holding her broom out. "Cover me while I take off…" she said. Everyone spread out around her with their wands at the ready. As she straddled her broom one of the creatures rushed in and tackled Ginny to the ground.

"Get off of her!" Hermione yelled. "Reducto!" the spell collided with the back of the thing and merely put a dent in it.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Neville loosed the curse on one of the creatures near him, but it seemed ineffective.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled.

There wasn't much Ginny could do, she was buried under the things slimy body as it raked at her skin and clawed at her neck, chest and face. It let out a raspy cry as its dingy nails moved over her body. "Gin-nee…Gin-nee…" she fought to cover her eyes and shield them from the onslaught.

"Incarcerous!" Ron screamed as he rushed forward to help his sister. The creature was bound with ropes and rolled over to the side. He kicked the thing away from Ginny and stomped its face over and over until it seemed to be dead. "Are you okay, Gin?"

She nodded, though her face and neck burned with deep scratches.

"They're Inferi…" Hermione said.

"Reanimated dead?" asked Luna. "We need fire," Luna said.

Neville sent a bolt of magic into the ankles of one of the creatures, bringing it to the ground. Ron held out his arm to hold two more of the creatures back as the one he had bound up wiggled on the ground again. "Hurry up with the fire!"

As if on a cue, Luna and Hermione both raised their wands, but cast two different spells.

"Infernus Incenerati!" shouted Hermione.

"Incendio!" Luna yelled.

Luna's fire swept low around them, driving most of the things back and swirling like the heart of a storm. The Inferi recoiled, shielding their eyes from the mass of burning air that whipped past them. Hermione's flames were malevolent and morphed into a serpent that forked out through the Inferi and burrowed through their flesh. They crumbled to ash as it touched them and were sliced into pieces. Everyone else stood in awe as Hermione stirred the air with her wand and drove the fire onward.

One of them, fleeing the fire Hermione had conjured actually dashed through the flames and bowled Luna back. He pushed her to the ground, its legs still on fire as it pulled at her hair in a frenzy.

Harry ran to aid her. "Stupefy!" his spell bounced the creature off of Luna and sent it tumbling back into the flames. He stooped down next to Luna. "Are you okay?"

Luna stared at the flames as they dance encircling them and destroying the Inferi in a torrent of fire. She said nothing back to Harry.

"Luna, are you okay?" Harry asked.

She turned to him blankly with her big, silvery gray eyes. Then without warning, she pounced into Harry and kissed him under the glow of the serpent of flames.

"Hermione stop!" Ginny cried.

From this angle they could see the look on Hermione's face. Her eyes were vacant as she moved her wand causing the flaming magic serpent to pass over the Inferi over and over again. The skin around her eyes was going pink. Tears streamed down over her cheeks as she continued to conduct the fire.

The Inferi were burned down to stumps now, they were being ground into ash by the fires. "Hermione stop it, you're scaring me!" Ron said.

She didn't and the fire grew in intensity. Luna clambered against Harry, holding tight to him. "What's going on?" Harry yelled.

"We have to stop her!" Ginny yelled.

"It's the Fiendfyre, she can't stop it…" said Luna. "We can't disarm her…it could be dangerous," Luna yelled over the roar of the flames.

From the fires there was a raspy voice whispering. "Protect. Protect," it repeated as the serpent whirled around the room.

Everyone stood there, staring up at the fires that roamed through the halls around them. Suddenly there was a great crash as a dome of water erupted from the floor to protect them. It rushed outward to quell the fires and as the waters subsided, Hermione plummeted to the floor on her side, unconscious.

Ginny glanced back through the crumbled pieces of the Inferi that littered the floor to see Albus Dumbledore standing in the hallway with his wand raised. He locked eyes with each of them in turn, staring them down through his half-moon spectacles. "Don't just stand there," he said finally. "We must get her to the infirmary; the effects of that spell shouldn't last long, but let's just be safe side of things, shall we?"


	16. Chapter 16

The Headmaster's office was a cramped space not suited to holding large numbers of students. Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville bunched together before the little wooden desk. Dumbledore paced in the allotted space behind his chair with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Inferi just happened to come into the school…where you said that all of the missing items from the day were," he said.

"Y-yes sir," Ginny said. "We don't think it's just random happenstance, but it was so fast," she said.

"Of course its not, those things just launched themselves at Ginny. They were saying her name," said Ron. "And there's something else…"

"Mister Weasley, what is it?" Dumbledore asked as the others all turned to face Ron.

"Hermione and I came across a Boggart, I saved her from it…I wasn't sure how it got into the school but it must have come in there too," Ron said.

Ginny shot him a glance, her eyes widening. "That night when you said you made up?" she asked.

Ron sighed inwardly and let his head fall forward. "Sorry Ginny, it just seemed like a good idea not to tell you," said Ron.

"It would seem that someone is testing the school security. Where does the passage emerge?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry clambered forward. "Under Honeydukes, sir," he said.

"We need to have it searched for werewolves—it could be their stronghold," Dumbledore said.

"When will Hermione be okay?" asked Ginny when she finally let it out the words out in a frantic breath.

Dumbledore leveled his head toward her. "She should be up momentarily," he said.

"What caused her to lose it like that?" Neville said. "I've never seen Hermione look like that before…"

"She invoked a dangerous old power in her attempt to protect all of you and Ginny," Dumbledore said. "She didn't know that she was doing it, but that's what happened," he explained.

Luna glanced around. "What about the FiendFyre?" she asked. "Didn't she just lose control of it because of what it was?"

"In a way, Miss Lovegood. What you need to understand is that the nature of Dark Magic isn't what you think. Even at its darkest and most disrespectful it's a perverted form of something simple and old, that's what Miss Granger tapped into," Dumbledore said.

Ginny's hands clasped in front of her as she stammered to get the answer out. "This has to do with me though? It's my fault that she's hurt, then?"

"You can't blame yourself—if that's the case Hermione saved us all because of her spell, Ginny," Luna said.

"Thank, you Luna," Dumbledore said. Harry grasped Luna's hand between them, Ginny barely noticed it but it seemed she had succeeded in that task. "Your link with Miss Granger is what saved everyone, Ginny," Dumbledore added.

"Our link?"

"Dark Magic is born out of love—its perversions of protection can’t stand up in the face of true love though,” said Dumbledore.

"Wait, what?" asked Harry.

"All Dark Magic comes from love, it's a simple fact my boy," said Dumbledore. "The Killing Curse, Fiendfyre, all of it—made of Love. Its perverted form is a tool of evil, but it's possible to tap into the true nature of those spells. The power might be too much for someone to assume, even at the level of myself. At the moment that Hermione used that spell, she wasn't thinking of destroying the Inferi or inflicting damage upon them, she was filled with the purest desire to protect out of love and it consumed her. It's a powerful thing," he said.

"Powerful enough to do what Hermione's fire did?" asked Neville.

"Powerful enough to give someone semi-permanent protection from the darkest of Dark Wizards," Dumbledore said. He paced back to his chair and sat down. "Now is there anything else at all unusual that happened here," his eyes fell on harry, "anything at all?"

Harry hesitated a second, his eyes darting side to side. "No—no sir, that's it," he said.

"I see. I would like to ask you all to wait before going to see Miss Granger, let her rest the night. Things will be much clearer to her in the morning," Dumbledore said.

"I think we can do that," Ron said glancing over his shoulder at Ginny. Something in his eyes spoke to her and she knew he was right.

Ginny nodded. "We'll just go see her in the morning," she said.

"Good. Now, I fear it's much too late for me to ask you to stay here," Dumbledore said. "You may return to your dormitories."

They started for the door and Harry shuffled slowly, lingering behind as they piled through the small door. "Dumbledore, sir?"

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry's green eyes flashed toward the door and Luna. "May I walk Luna back to Ravenclaw Tower?"

Dumbledore smiled and gave a slight nod. "Why of course, my boy—it's the polite thing to do," he said.

The hall outside of the girl's dormitories were empty when Ginny stepped into them. It was gloomy and the usual sounds of the girl's stirring were absent. She edged down the hallway peering at the deep shadows that shrouded the last half of the corridor. Each step seemed to creak and echo on after she took it.

She paused as a flutter of movement ahead called her attention back to the shadows. There was a slight crackling sound and a short whimper. Ginny drew her wand and held it aloft. "Lumos!" she flicked the wand and its tip burst with brilliant greenish light. "Who's there? Professor Snape?"

A small stammering whimper answered. "…no, Mistress Weasey no hurt Dobby!" a bug eyed House Elf with huge tennis ball green eyes emerged from the darkness. "Dobby have message for Mistress Weasey! Master told Dobby…"

"A bloody House Elf—can this stupid message wait?" Ginny asked as she brushed past.

"Well…Master told Dobby that Mistress was to be obeyed so…" Dobby turned to walk away.

"Whatever it is, I can't deal with it right now so just leave me be!" Ginny yelled. There was a slight popping sound and the huge green eyes were gone. She stood in the hall for a long while, searching the darkness to see if the Elf had truly left.

Ginny shivered as a whisper of air brushed past her shoulder and words from someone standing right behind her, hovering over her shoulder reached her ear. "Yelling in the halls after hours, Miss Weasely? Ten points from Gryffindor," came Severus Snape's voice in a raspy whisper.

Rolling her eyes and not bothering to look back, Ginny stomped off to her dorm and closed the door. Inside of the room some of the other girl's stirred but Ginny didn't care. She made her way over to her bunk with thoughts of what she had to do rolling about in her head. Fenrir and his gang of wolves needed to be stopped.

If Dumbledore was right and every curse, every Dark Spell had its root in love…if that was the true nature of magic then she knew what she had to acquire and she knew where she would have to go to find it…

* * *

Hermione blinked her eyes open to the blurry image of a redhead staring down at her. She moved to lift her body, the light of the sun pouring into the room burned and she stammered to speak. "Gin—Ginny?" she managed.

"No, Sweetheart—it's me. Lily."

"Miss Potter…I'm sorry, my eyes…" Hermione said. "What's wrong with them?"

"Dumbledore tells me it was the Fiendfyre, it was so intense that it actually damaged them…" Lily said. "It will take a few days to heal at most—Severus brewed some potions to help the process."

Hermione cracked a smile. "Of course, Professor Snape and his potions," she laughed nervously.

"Oh yes, he's quite amazing with them. Isn't he?" Lily said and Hermione could hear the smile in her voice. "He actually taught me everything I know," she said.

"Where am I?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is the infirmary, I guess you can't see well enough to tell," Lily said.

Hermione felt her blood run faster; her heart thudded against her chest. She had tried to avoid this place since Draco's death. Here she was in this place again. For a moment she felt blessed for her lacking eyesight. "What happened to me?" asked Hermione.

"You were fending off a vicious attack from a group of Inferi and your magic got out of control, no one was hurt and you probably saved the lives of all your friends," Lily said.

"I hurt myself?" asked Hermione. "My spell just…got out of control?"

Lily laughed. "It was the emotion, I think. You burned a fair bit of the hallway too. But nothing we couldn't fix back up."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you helped keep that pigheaded son of mine out of trouble as usual," Lily said. "What were you doing out in the halls with him and the others?"

"We were going to steal pies from the kitchens…" Hermione said.

Lily's laugh was unexpectedly melodic and girlish. Hermione had heard it before and it seemed different. "He's just like James was at that age—kind of odd that he inherited it…"

"Did you let Mister Potter talk you into stupid plans like this?" asked Hermione.

Lily sighed. "Yes…he and Sirius were all too convincing," she said. "Lupin, Peter, and I had the reason and logic behind us, yet we were never charismatic enough to resist…"

Hermione smiled. "I think Harry did pick that up then," she said. "Can I ask you something about another student from when you were here?"

"Sure."

"Professor Snape—what was he like?"

"Severus had it rough both at home and here. Sometimes I feel like I was the only good friend that he had. I don't know if he knows how to react to it…" Lily said.

"Yeah, I could see that."

Lily chuckled. "I guess that's a bit personal actually. Severus is a good man, no matter what others think of him. It's because of him I dated James actually…" she said.

"That seems shocking, actually," Hermione said.

"You can never know how things will turn out, sometimes they just fall into place," Lily said.

"Yeah."

"Rest you eyes a bit Hermione, I'll be here to talk with you when you open them again—I'm filling in for Poppy," Lily said.

Hermione closed her eyes and the stinging of the light subsided. "Is she okay?"

"Just away, now rest some…"

* * *

Ginny awoke late but her free period would provide her plenty of time to go and see Hermione. She dressed and showered and headed out of the common room without telling anyone else. News of the night's adventure hadn't yet reached everyone but it was apparent that people knew something had happened. The hallway where the incident had occurred was fiercely scorched. As she passed it the extent of the damage became apparent.

"Gin, are you going to see Hermione? Wait up!" It was Ron, he jogged to catch up. "I'm going to chance missing the first part of Potions to peep in on her."

"That's thoughtful of you. But you're asking for Snape to bend you over the desk and shove it in you—I mean really, Ron," Ginny said.

"Bugger that git, Hermione's hurt," Ron said.

"When we get there can you give me a moment alone with Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"You're not going to do her in the infirmary bed, are you?" Ron looked horrified.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm not that randy, or perhaps you think Madam Pomfrey would like to join in?"

Ron shivered. "No thanks…but what you planning, it seems like you got something on your mind?" he asked.

"I just need to…kiss her—I'm planning to do something very stupid and I might need you and Harry to help. Stupid is your domain after all," she said.

"Blimey, thanks for not trying to butter me up before you pop the question," said Ron. "Oh speaking of Harry, guess who spent forty five minutes walking Loony Lovegood to her dorm last night…"

"Shut it, Ron," Ginny said.

"She doesn't care if I call her Loony…"

"Ronald, Ginny—good morning. Are we on the way to see Hermione?" Luna had parked herself right in front of them in the hall.

Ron stammered to recover. "Hey, Luna."

"Yeah, we're on the way, you want to come?" asked Ginny.

Luna nodded. They continued on toward the infirmary and Luna hummed most of the way. "Oh, it slipped my mind, but I should thank you, Ginny. Kissing is indeed very fun. Harry and I must have tried it in the Ravenclaw common room for quite some time but he seemed perturbed at the prospect of me removing my top…or any of my other clothes."

"Look, Ron, Luna I trust you two and I guess I will need to wait to tell Harry…" Ginny started.

Ron chuckled over her. "Harry's probably nursing a pair of stones blue enough to rival…" he said cutting her off.

"Ron, shit—cut it out," Ginny said. "This is serious."

"This about your plan?" asked Ron.

"There's a plan now?" asked Luna. "Goody." 

Ginny nodded and came to a stop checking the hall for anyone within earshot. "There's a plan and we're doing it tonight—I'm ending Fenrir but I need something first," she said.

"Are you sure Ginny?" asked Ron.

"You need to either come with me or kill me, because you won't stop me any other way and its best if you're at least there to back me up," Ginny said.

Luna bounced on the balls of her feet humming lightly. "So what are we doing?" she asked in an airy tone. "Does it involve kissing?"

"It will if we fuck it up," Ginny said. "We're going to break into Azkaban and I'm going to talk to Tom Riddle—this goes wrong the Dementors will be kissing us and we can kiss our asses goodbye." Ron and Luna gasped. "Don't try and convince me otherwise, Tom Riddle has something I need and there's no other way," Ginny said.

* * *

It was a longer walk, but Ginny couldn't stand to meet in Myrtle's bathroom anymore. The ghost seemed to be a more distracting factor than ever. For this venture, the Room of Requirement did something entirely new. The floor was polished wood and there was a table set up in the middle with four chairs pulled up around it. A fireplace with dancing flames rustled in the background.

This was the smallest Ginny had seen the Room of Requirement. Its ability to change seemed greater than most other magic she had come across and part of her would have usually spent more time wondering who had conjured it into being. But there was the pressing issue at hand of her plan.

"I don't think I get this, Ginny—Azkaban?" asked Harry. "What made you decide this?"

Ginny looked back toward the door to the Room of the Requirement, checking to make sure it was still closed and they hadn't been followed. "The books here at the school, all of the information we have access to…its censored. Certain curses are left out," Ginny said. "If we're going to fight a monster like Fenrir we're going to need everything in the arsenal," she said.

"We have a ton of spells at our disposal already. What are you looking for?" asked Ron.

"Tom Riddle would know The Killing Curse, he'd know how to torture and control others…if what Dumbledore said is true, these things all have their roots in something good, love. If Riddle's locked up and without his wand then we won't have to worry about him."

"This is nuts Ginny, even if Riddle were going to talk to you. We'd have to break into Azkaban to talk to him," Harry said.

Ginny's arms stiffened down at her sides. "And I have to do this—Hermione got hurt because of me and I am not willing to see what lengths she'll go through to help me again…" Ginny said.

"Maybe you could just ask Harry's dad," Ron said. "He's an Auror—or you could ask Sirius, flirt it out of him. Anything's better than going to someone like Riddle."

"All we know of the man is that he's a murderer," Harry said. "For all we know he could have reformed or something in Azkaban."

Luna nodded. "Harry's right, I mean we don't know him."

"Luna, the man murdered a Muggle-Born girl here at the school. People like that just don't change," Ginny said, sounding slightly offended.

Luna fell silent, glancing over Ginny's face and then turning her eyes toward the ground. Ron sighed. "How do you plan to get to Azkaban, we can't exactly Apparate there, you know? It's in the middle of the bloody North Sea!"

Ginny glanced around. "We'll leave after dinner—immediately after," she said.

"That's an hour from now," Harry said.

"We're already missing part of this meal if we don't leave soon," Ron groaned. "Dementors though," Ron grimaced. "But we haven't had a chance to get used to a Patronus in battle conditions."

"This is our chance, then. So you're coming with me?" asked Ginny with a smile.

"Who could turn this down, this is the craziest plan I've ever heard," Harry said.

Ron put a hand on Ginny's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I kind of have to come, you're my little sister."

"I'm coming too, Ginny. You'll need all the help you can get," Luna added.

A thin smile spread over Ginny's face. "Then it's settled. We're doing this…for Hermione—and so that Fenrir can't hurt another person, ever again," she looked over all their faces and saw the same determination that she felt reflected in their eyes. The Room of Requirement's fire crackled softly in the background as the silence stretched on. "We better go and get our things," Ginny said finally.

As they gathered their things to leave the Room of Requirement, Ginny grasped Luna's shoulder to stop her. "Luna, can I ask you a favor?" Ginny said.

"Oh yes, of course Ginny."

"I know you like to make artistic things…can you conjure me four masks, we're going to need one for each of us," Ginny said.

"I can do that."

They departed from the Owlery under the cover of darkness. The cool musty air rippled past them as they soared up over the Forbidden Forest headed to the West. The grounds of Hogwarts passed out from beneath them quickly and then they were soaring over the open ranges of Scotland. Luna rode along with Harry, while Ron and Ginny had their own brooms.

Before long they were passing over the forests and winding roads that snaked between hills. The sky darkened further and the moon rose into the sky. It wasn't yet full again. Checking the status of the moon had become somewhat of a habit for Ginny since Christmas.

"It's nice out right now, I hope it doesn't rain," said Luna.

Harry gripped tight to the broom, leaning back to speak to her over the rush of the wind. "It's not so bad I guess—when you play Quidditch, you're in the rain often enough," he said with a chuckle.

Billowing swells of clouds moved above them and passed them by in time. Clouds that seemed to be unreachable and on the horizon's edge soon replaced the sky above and before they knew it, they were out at sea. The shore dropped away into the distance the moon reflected up off the turbulent surface of the sea. A stinging salt mist kicked up off the water and the air grew cold.

"How do you know the way?" asked Ron.

"The magical fields used to protect the prison are detectable," Ginny yelled, "Hermione showed me a spell that can point to other large scale magical fields…it can't be used to find Hogwarts, but with a prison they wouldn't be worried about someone getting in…"

"They're more worried about them getting out," Ron said. "And with scores of Dementors guarding the place they don't have much need to worry," he added.

"Did you cast it yet?" asked Luna.

Ginny shook her head. "We're too far," she said. "Just wait a bit longer…"

The moon rose higher into the sky and the wind picked up to the levels that it was fierce and biting. The brooms lagged against the speed of the wind as the pushed through the oncoming gale.

With her wand held aloft, Ginny made a quick circle in the air and then pointed it out in front of herself. There was a burst of orange light from the tip of her wand that streaked through the night sky leaving a trail of dust dangling behind it. Ginny' wrenched her gloved hands around the broom stick and rocketed off to follow the orange bolt. "This way," she called back to the others as she raced away.

They dropped lower and the sea's salt spray pounded them as waves crashed into one another below them. A towering monument of water forced Harry to dodge to one side as it raced toward him. He glanced back at it as he passed. "This is ridiculous—the water might kill us before the guards or prisoners do."

"Second meanest waters in the world," said Luna hanging on to Harry, her face was buried against his shoulder to avoid the water and for some reason she was wearing a snorkel that Ginny had only just noticed. "That's why the Hoppy-Tri-tentacle hides here…" she paused adding in an airy tone. "It's like three tentacled sea rabbit…"

"Sea rabbit, eh," said Ron. He turned to Ginny with an eyebrow raised. She shot him a stern glance in return.

"There it is!" Harry's voice cut through the sound of the wind and the waves.

"How can you be sure that's it?" asked Ron.

Before anyone could answer there was the sound of billowing cloaks at their backs and they wheeled around to see a trio of Dementors swooping in behind them. Luna held her wand back toward them and yelled. "Expecto Patronum!" in a burst of blue light a spectral rabbit charged out of her wand and tore through the Dementors, forcing them to retreat.

"They're fast," Ginny said. "Once we hit the ground we're going to need to cover ourselves," she instructed them."

In a panic Ron threw up a weak in corporeal Patronus Charm that distracted a Dementor for him to zip past. Azkaban was visible through the spray of the sea now, it seemed to be little more than a brick tower jutting up from jagged rocks in an angry sea. Masses of clouds seemed to swirl over.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry's stag bull-rushed a quartet of Dementors and chased them back over the sea into the distance. "How do we know where to go in there…it's a big tower!"

"We're going to have to search!" Ginny yelled.

"If he's the most notorious—they'd keep him at the top near the center of the building," said Luna in an almost too expert tone.

Everyone stared back at Luna, but they could see the sense in her logic. Ron glanced to his sister. "Why did we follow you out here into the middle of the worst water in the Northern Hemisphere to break into the place housing the most dangerous Wizards in Britain?" he asked over the howl of the winds.

"You said because you're my brother!" Ginny said.

"That's starting to seem like less of a good reason," Ron said.

Ginny pulled her head down to dodge a Dementor and as they neared the side of the prison the creatures clambered into their projected path to cover the building. Luna and Harry cast their Patronuses, there was an explosion of blue as the rabbit and stag wove their paths in and out of each other in a spiraling collision course with the Dementors. Just as they connected Ginny drew her broom back to slow her speed and whipped her wand at the wall.

"Reducto!" The wall was blown clear through by a bolt of magic, she crashed through with the rubble and stumbled to her feet against the wall of hallway. Luna and Harry piled in behind her and then Ron, all of them stumbling over the broken bricks of the side of the wall.

"What did you bring us out here for?" Ron yelled.

Ginny dismounted her broom and glared over at him. "I already told you…" she said. "You didn't have to come, you know?"

"You just guilted me into it," Ron said.

There was hollering off down the halls, the prisoners were riled up. Not all of them sounded happy. Some of the screamed in torment and there was the sound of sobs coming from the distance. Harry pointed to where a Dementor at the end of the hall was siphoning out happiness form a group of men gathered and chained into the center of a cell. "Let's hope that it's not feeding time in Riddle's cell," he said.

"Do you have them, Luna?" whispered Ginny.

Luna nodded and produced four masks from her cloak. They were garish in color and had feathers all over them. Ginny could already tell which ones belong to her and Luna, there were little pink rabbits covered in glitter on one and the other had a unicorn stuck with a charm on it. Ron's had Quidditch stickers and for some odd reason Harry's was just adorned with a singular lightning bolt.

Ron pointed to Harry's lightning bolt mask. "Hey Luna, that symbol mean Harry's quick in bed?" he asked chuckling.

"It's because he's the Seeker…oh don't be perverted Ronald. I haven't even seen Harry's bed," Luna said.

"Floors, shadowy grassy patches—where ever you two go," Ron laughed.

"We're in Azkaban," Ginny said in a stern tone as she slipped her mask on. "We could be a little more professional," she added.

Harry shot Ron an evil glance. "We're going to need to hurry, the Auror's might show up if the alarm's been sounded," he said.

Ginny led them off through the corridors. Many of the prisoners snarled and growled from behind their bars. Their hands were chained and boarded up in front of them and they were hooked to the floor in some cases. A few of them hung comatose in the center of the room with vacant stares plastered on their faces.

The tower of Azkaban seemed larger inside and as they neared the center of the building they came across an old man laid back in the corner of a cell with his eyes rolled up toward them. His hair had gone white so long ago that even the luster and sheen seemed to be gone. He wore a ragged patchy of a cloak. The bricks next to his cell were marked with a name. "Gellert Grindelwald," said Harry. "That's the man Dumbledore fought…"

Grindelwald rattled his chains clawing for the front of his cell. "You…know Albus Dumbledore?" his blue eyes stared into Harry's with a maddening glare.

Harry backed away and Luna grabbed his arm. "Come on," she said quietly.

Ginny and Ron were out ahead of them, racing along the corridors and working their way toward the other side of the hall. There was no sign of a cell marked Tom Riddle. As they moved through the halls the cries of the inmates grew more fierce and insane. A Dementor barred their path and Ron shielded them as Luna and Harry sent their Patronuses to help.

They regrouped and took the next corner to see Tom's cell at the end of a long hall of empty cells. Everyone froze except Ginny, who strolled forward pulling the mask back up onto the top of her hair. She stepped into the moonlight that streaked across in front of Tom's cell. For the first time it seemed the sound of waves bashing into the tower could be heard again.

"Where do you suppose the Dementors are?" asked Ron.

"They're not smart, they might just think we're supposed to be here—it's leaving they're going to make hard," said Luna.

"Tom Riddle," Ginny said stooping down in front of his cell. "I came to ask you something."

Tom looked worn out, his cheeks sunken and his skin pale and sallow. His hair splashed off his shoulders in thick dark curls and his eyes were alert and orange in color with an almost snake like iris. Ginny shivered when they looked at her, but fought to contain it. "I don't answer to that name," he said in a quiet tone.

"That is your name—that's what we're calling you," Ginny said.

His eyes flicked up at her. "My real name is known and it should be feared," he spat. "You're but a child," he looked her over. "They must still speak it in the back allies of Diagon or in the corner's of Hogwarts?" Tom said with anticipation.

"Tom, I came here to ask you a question," Ginny said.

"Say it! Call me Lord Voldemort!" Tom Riddle screamed with a slight cackle and it was then Ginny noticed his teeth, they were sharpened like fangs. He turned to pound at the shattered and cracked bricks fitted into the back wall. Some of them seemed loose.

"This guy's a nutter, let's get out of here," Ron said.

"I need you to show me the Killing Curse," Ginny said.

Tom laughed some more. "Hand me your wand girl, then I shall show it to you!" he broke out into even more feverish laughter then.

"The incantation and wand movements, now!" Ginny ordered. As she pulled herself close to the bars.

His wretched hands came up, shackled together and he swiped at a tendril of her hair that was barely within reach. "You are such an innocent, gentle looking child—who do you mean to kill?"

"A were wolf, now give me the incantation," Ginny said.

"To kill is more than incantations and wand movements, it's a subtle art. You must be willing to fill your heart with hatred and let it rip from your wand and into that other person," Tom smirked at her.

"Get back some, he's dangerous," Luna said.

Ginny looked Tom over in disgust. "I'm not going to kill anyone out of hatred—it's for the sake of protecting those I love," she said.

"There's little power to be had in such fairytale ideas. Love is the dream of those too weak to desire true power…" Tom said. "Someone loved that Mudblood Mytrle and it didn't protect her from my monster…you will never perform that curse without hatred," he said.

"Try me, Riddle," Ginny spat as she slung a spell into his face, it was small and only nipped him.

"Did he say Myrtle?" asked Harry.

Tom ignored him and leaned down near the bars. "The incantation is simply A-VAH-dah Ke-DAH-vra!" he pronounced every syllable in a hard whisper and then lunged forward snatching Ginny's hair and yanking her into the bars roughly.

Ginny's vision blurred as her head slammed into the bars and Riddle yanked her wand from her hands. He brandished it up in his shackled hands and the others clambered to get at their wands. Tom hooked his hand under and tapped his shackles with the wand, it broke away and he danced back to the back of the cell and made a great sweeping motion that threw Harry, Luna and Ron to the ground.

"Would you like me to show you some more? Do you know what hatred can do?" Tom lumbered forward. "Crucio!" he shouted.

Pain ignited Ginny's veins and coursed through her. She felt like the flesh was being stripped from her bones with burning, raking claws. Ginny clutched her arms around her stomach and dropped to her side, begging. She grasped at her arms, pulling them so tight around her that her nails broke her own skin.

Luna pushed herself up onto one arm. "Infernus Incenerati!" Luna shouted aiming her wand at Tom. A serpent of fire rolled out of her wand and engulfed Tom's hair. He dropped Ginny's wand and began to scream as he grabbed at his face. Luna went to pull the wand back but she saw Riddle move for the bars. "Accio Brick!" Luna pulled the brick from the wall and it smashed into the back of Tom's head, knocking him into the bars and putting him and the fire out cold. His face was a scorched, bloody mess of burns. Harry and Ron stared at Luna.

Ginny coughed up a spurt of blood onto the stone floor. "Shit…" she managed. "We need to go—I got what I came for," she said as she worked her hands under the bars and grasped the wand.

Ron and Harry helped Ginny back to her feet. Luna grabbed Ginny's broom up. "I'll fly Ginny back," said Luna. They got Ginny onto the broom behind Luna and as they lifted off they heard Riddle stirring and there were the sounds of shoes in the hall.

The Aurors…

They raced out of the prison back toward the opening they had cut in the side of the building, the screams of the occupants ringing in their ears as they tore through the air. As they pulled out of Azkaban, Luna raised her wand and repaired the hole in the bricks. With that, they tore off into the night.


	17. The Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the excruciating wait, so this story was first published on FFN back in 2010 and it was a big hit over there, my biggest. I have wanted to go back and edit it and I really took my time getting things done with it these last two years or so. I'm not 'part of the Harry Potter' fandom anymore, not in the real sense. I went through a creative burst with the stories when I first read the books back then (in 2010), but this was the first thing I completed that I was really happy with. It might not have aged the best, but people seem to love it and I feel like there isn't enough F/F pairing with these two running around. There's only three chapters left including this one, so I hope you guys enjoy the ride.

They touched down atop the Astronomy Tower. It was late, that was the only thing that Ginny was sure of. There were no sounds from the forest around the school or the grounds and every visible window in the castle was darkened. Ginny ran her hand back over her head, snatching her goggles off as Luna stepped off of the broom.

She could still feel the pain of the torturing curse that Tom Riddle had cast on her. The muscles in her body pulsed with pain at every movement. Ginny urged herself toward the stairs that led back down to the castle.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Ron. "We can't exactly slip into bed and pretend to have been there the whole time," he added.

Ginny's voice was weak as she spoke. "We'll use the Room of Requirement—sleep there and go to classes in the morning…it can provide clothes for us," she said.

"This is wicked—we might be the first ones to ever do something that utterly stupid,' he laughed.

"Yeah," Luna said. "Are you feeling any better, Ginny?"

"A little—it still burns in my chest," Ginny said holding her hand to her chest. "I'll live though."

"Out for a midnight broom flight, I see," came a familiar voice from the other side of the tower. "What's the occasion?" Albus Dumbledore appeared, seemingly out of thin air on the opposite side of the Astronomy Tower roof, already walking toward them.

Ginny jumped, clenching her hands tight with shock. "Yes, sir—just went out for a little midnight flight…you see Luna and Harry just started dating, you see?" said Ginny.

Dumbledore let out a joyous laugh. "Then I would say congratulations are in order," he said tucking his hands behind his back. "But it's late, you should hurry off to bed," he said.

None of them made a protest as they headed for the stairs. "Thank you, sir," said Harry.

"Thank you," Luna said.

Just before they reached the first stair Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Just one thing…" he trailed off. They all paused to hear him out. "How are Tom and Gellert?" asked Dumbledore plainly.

Ginny's veins ran cold and she trembled. "They—how did you know, sir?"

“Oh come now, why do you think the Dementors and the Aurors took so long to respond?" Dumbledore said. "Now run along to bed—I hope you found what you needed…"

* * *

* * *

Hermione noticed the disembodied shoe in the corner of the library when she entered. She had been searching all over the school for Ginny, but it was clear from the moment she saw the foot, what was going on. Quietly she crossed the library and aimed her wand right at the spot whispering in her lowest tone. "Accio Cloak," she said.

The invisibility cloak was ripped from atop the lip-locked Luna and Harry. Much to her surprise they didn't stop kissed despite their location being revealed. It wasn't until Harry moved to kiss her neck and Luna's wand, which was tucked behind her ear, poked him in the face. They parted lips chuckling. 

"Sorry, Harry," Luna said taking it down.

"Have you to seen Ginny?" Hermione asked throwing the cloak in between the pair and rendering them partially invisible.

Harry was still laughing. "No, she might be resting—she kind of got hurt the other night…at Quidditch practice," Harry said.

"There was no practice last night," Hermione said.

"Yes there was," Harry countered quickly.

"No, the infirmary window is facing the Quidditch Pitch and I was looking right at it…" Hermione said.

"It was a late practice, you were sleep," said Harry.

"Midnight practice," Luna said wide eyed with her head bobbing up and down in agreement.

Hermione stared them down. Luna hadn't made an effort to move, she was straddling Harry's lap with her back pressed into the corner. It was a clever place to hide, no one ever stood or walked there and if they remained quiet they'd be virtually undiscoverable. Their efforts to hide the truth weren't as successful.

"Nice try," Hermione said.

"You caught us," Luna giggled. "But we were lying for a good reason," she said. "And it's not a reason we can reveal—you'll have to talk to Ginny. Sorry Hermione."

Hermione smirked. "It's okay, Luna. But where is she? I checked her bed after they let me out this morning."

"She might be sleeping in the, you know, are-oh-are…” Harry said.

She mulled over this in her head for a moment, having never heard of this thing and it hit her a second later. Room of Requirement.

"I see, thanks you two," Hermione said turning to leave the library. She was headed back toward the seventh floor when she spotted Ginny walking down the corridor with Neville trying to pull her books out of her hand.

"Stop it, Neville—I have them! I'm okay!" Ginny protested as Neville fought with her.

"Just let me help you, Ginny—you look so tired," Neville said.

Ginny let out a girlish growl. "You ass, that's just what I wanted to hear—not only do I feel like shit, I've apparently got the look to match.”

Out of a doorway just past Ginny and Neville emerged Snape carrying a roll of parchment as he hurried down the hall. As he passed the struggling pair his nasally voice broke the air. "Language, Miss Weasley—ten points…"

Wordlessly he passed Hermione, only sneering as he glanced sideways at her through his curtain of greasy, black hair. Ginny and Neville came into better view and Hermione noticed that Ginny did look quite horrible. Her skin was washed out and her usually lively brown eyes were blood shot with purple bags beneath them.

"Ginny, is everything okay?" Hermione called.

Ginny lost the fight and conceded the books to Neville's care. "Yes—I just didn't get enough sleep last night," she said.

"I saw Luna and Harry, so you can forgo trying to lie to me," Hermione said. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"Out."

"Out's not an answer, you look like something happened," Hermione said. "I'm worried about you," she said.

In a movement that Hermione would have never thought Ginny could muster in this state, Ginny grabbed Hermione and forced her back through an open door into an abandoned classroom. She pushed Hermione up against the nearest wall, kissing her roughly. The two of them stayed pressed there.

"It seems like it's been a long time," Ginny said.

"You seem a little too glad to see me."

"I am—we broke into Azkaban last night," the words escaped Ginny's lips as her breath washed over Hermione's neck and shoulders and then Ginny was biting her again nibbling into soft curve just before her shoulder. It felt so good that Hermione almost missed what had been said.

"The Azkaban?" Hermione's words were almost a moan.

Ginny lifted her face. "It's too much to explain now—we can…go…to the Room of Requirement…if you want to, that is," Ginny said.

“Yeah. I want to find out what you were doing at Azkaban."

"Information gathering, I think I have something to help in the fight against Fenrir," said Ginny. "I did it because I don't want you or anyone else hurt, ever again," she said kissing the front of Hermione's neck.

Ginny knew how to push her buttons by now. Hermione knew the second that Ginny brushed the soft tips of her fingers down the inside of her thigh that it wouldn't be long before she'd be willing to let Ginny take her right there on the teacher's desk.

"No…Ginny," Hermione gasped. "I have to go to class in like two minutes—that's not time for much," she said. "And what I want—right now—is for you to tell me what you went there for."

"I needed to know the killing curse," Ginny said.

"No, you can't Ginny," Hermione was instantly snapped out of Ginny's trance.

A smile spread across Ginny's face. "Remember what Lupin said, werewolves aren't considered Humans under the law. The curse is only illegal if used on Humans."

“Do you hear yourself right now?” Asked Hermione.

“Trying to protect us. Trying to protect our school!” Ginny said in a huff.

“Whatever. I bet you didn’t even learn the incantation?" asked Hermione absently.

"Avada Kedavra…" Ginny whispered.

"Don't even say it," Hermione moved to cover her ears.

"They're only words, Mione, they can't hurt you…" Ginny pressed her lips to the spot just under Hermione's ear and started to kiss a trail down her neck. "I wanted to be ready…because they're not going to…wait to attack…forever…" she spoke between kisses.

"Not now, Ginny," she said. "I need to get to class," said Hermione. She backed away, her heart fluttering. It had been far too long. As she started for the door she waved bye. "Neville's out here waiting with your books, Gin. See you later."

As Hermione stepped out into the hall and rounded the corner into the next corridor where no one waited, she got the awkward feeling that she was being watched. She shook it off and headed to class.

* * *

* * *

As summer break approached, so did the final full moon of the term. Self Defense class continued to meet, though it seemed that Ginny and Hermione were more on edge with each meeting. The Room of Requirement had become too small as their ranks swelled with new students hoping to pick up some tips.

In Hogsmeade the disappearances had sparked worries but when the Inferi were reported to have breached the school and attacked people in the town things really got out of hand. Most were afraid to venture out into the night at all. The town had imposed a mandatory curfew at darkness and Hogwarts itself seemed to be under heavier guard than ever.

Before dinner one night, Ginny slipped down to Myrtle's bathroom. Something had been bothering her since the night that they broke into Azkaban and she just wanted to see if her suspicions were right.

She stepped into the cold restroom as the dying light filtered down through the high windows that were set in near the ceiling. Ginny walked out to the center of the restroom and checked under the stalls, opening the doors to make sure Snape wasn't hidden somewhere inside. Then she placed a magical locking spell on the door, not enough to stop another wizard or witch, but she wanted to buy time is all.

"Myrtle!" she said. "It's me—come out. I want to talk to."

There was a sniffling crying sound from down in one of the toilets. With a splash Myrtle emerged from the stall and hovered toward Ginny. "You want to talk to… _sniff_ …me?" asked Myrtle said.

Ginny nodded. "I just want to ask you something…about you…" she said.

"Okay…" Myrtle said sounding somewhat unsure of how to react.

“What do you remember from when…you died?" asked Ginny.

"Oh it was awful! It happened in this very bathroom—I was hiding here because Olive Hornby had taken to teasing me about my glasses. Then I heard someone come in and they were whispering…it was a boy and when I opened the stall to yell at them to get out I was staring at a huge pair of amber colored eyes…and then I was dead…" Myrtle explained.

"You were killed by a Basilisk, it's a creature that kills when you look into its eyes, Hermione Granger’s been researching it and told me all about it," Ginny said as Myrtle listened intently. 

Myrtle hovered in the air with her pale blue legs crossed and for what seemed like the longest time ever, she hadn't cried. 

"Did no one tell you this?" asked Ginny.

Myrtle shook her head. "They didn't even find me for hours, Headmaster Dippet made Olive go and look—you should have seen her face. I haunted her till her dying day…made sure she never forgot my face," a smile spread over Myrtle's face as she spoke.

"So they never told you who killed you?" Ginny asked.

"I never really thought about it," Myrtle said.

With a grimace Ginny sighed. "I see. I know his name and where he is," Ginny said.

"Really?"

"Tom Riddle—he's in Azkaban and he even admitted to killing you and being proud of it," Ginny said.

"I've always wanted to take a little holiday," Myrtle said with a devilish smile on her face. "Tom never teased me, I remember him and I actually…well let's just say we got along," Myrtle smiled sheepishly, could she have blushed, she would have.

"I see," Ginny said. "I just wanted to tell you because I met Tom Riddle and thought it was important that you know about this situation and how it happened."

Myrtle's smile grew and Ginny had never seen her like this. "Thank you, Ginny. I think I will go out to Azkaban and see if I can find Tom. I'll bet he remembers my face," she smirked.

“If he doesn’t he will.”

She started to hover off. "Don't worry—I'll be back here and see you at the start of next term," Myrtle said.

"I'll be sure to visit."

* * *

* * *

The thick rain clouds that blanketed the skies gave Hermione hope that the full moon might blotted out. Without the moon to give Fenrir's wolf-pack an upper hand they would rethink the attack. The pack wasn’t the best when it came to a fair magical fight.

Classes droned on for most of the day and Hermione felt like she wanted class to be over even before it started. She hadn't had much time for to spend with Ginny, what with all the studying. But because of tomorrow, she had to make time.

It was late when they she met Ginny outside of the Room of Requirement. The skies outside were still darkened with rain clouds and the storm outside swirled and wrapped its way around the castle. Had she been back home she would have been worried about the power going out, but there was hardly any electricity in Hogwarts because the magic interference was too great for most of it to work. "You're late," said Ginny.

"Sorry—it's been a bit of a busy day," Hermione smiled and took Ginny's hands in hers.

"Awe, I know—these NEWTS have all your time just eaten up," Ginny said flashing her big brown eyes up at Hermione.

"Time's just gone.” Hermione pulled Ginny closer and kissing her. "Are you still sore from the curse?" she asked.

"Not as much," Ginny said. "I didn’t know something could hurt that bad—I can't even explain it," she said. 

Hermione kissed her cheek. "You don't have to," she said. When she glanced at the wall the Room of Requirement door had appeared.

Ginny pulled her by the hand, leading her toward the doors. She shot a glance over her freckled shoulder, a devilish smile dominating her features. Hermione moved through the doors after Ginny, kicking them closed behind her. The Room of Requirement was back to the cottage lay out, the small cozy wooden floor stretched out in front of a fireplace with a four post bed at its center.

"I guess it's apparent what I walked into," Hermione said.

"Even the castle wants us, seems like," Ginny smiled and her face reddened with emotion. She pushed Hermione back to the bed with a hint of mild discomfort in her face as she lifted her leg to follow. "Sorry if I'm a little slow to respond," said Ginny with a smile. “Still a but sore, you know," she said.

Hermione kissed her neck. "I'm usually the gentle one…do I have to tell you to calm down?" she asked. 

Ginny positioned herself above Hermione with her legs on either side of the other girl's stomach. She paused for a moment, glancing down. 

"Well?" Hermione said.

“Sorry, just thinking," Ginny said.

"Well take your time," Hermione said running her hand down Ginny's arm.

"Now, I wouldn't want to keep you all night, Miss Granger," Ginny said.

"Why not? I haven't got anywhere else to be."

With a quick motion, Ginny wrapped her fingers through Hermione's and pinned hands above her head onto the bed. Wrenching one hand free Ginny smiled. "I've been practicing something," she said with a flick of her hand. "Incarcerous," Ginny whispered with a snicker, her eyes locked on Hermione's hands.

In an instant Hermione felt twine coil itself around her wrists, holding them back to the bed. She gasped in shock. "Wand-less magic? How did you…"

Ginny held her finger to Hermione's lips, shushing her. "Don't make me use the spell again," Ginny said with a grin.

Hermione bit her lip feigning nervousness. Just as a test, she struggled against the bindings. Though it was playful at first she found that Ginny's spell was truthfully strong, she couldn't have broken them even if she wanted to. "Now I'm wondering what you have planned?" said Hermione.

"We're not being too patient, are we?" asked Ginny. Keeping her legs bound tight around Hermione's waist, she flattened herself against her chest she kissed her way up Hermione's neck roughly. Her hand was between them fumbling with the buttons of Hermione's shirt.

An exasperated gasp escaped Hermione as she felt Ginny's leg work its way up between hers and brush its way under her skirt. Sitting up on the bed, Ginny reached behind her back for something and pulled her wand. "What do you need that for?" asked Hermione scathingly. "Thought you'd gone hands-free?"

"Oh no, I'm going to need my hands later. Don't worry about them now, though," Ginny sat there examining the wand. "Remember that bra breaker hex Harry and Ron tried?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah, doesn't work."

Ginny's eyebrows flicked upward momentarily. "It didn't, between Harry, Luna and I we figured it out."

"I'm sure Harry's had a lot of practice lately," Hermione quipped.

Ginny was still looking the wand over. "Actually Harry thinks the discovery is part of the fun, at least that's what Luna tells me. She's a bit heavy with the over-share. But I think that's where I differ from Harry, I like to get inside my gifts quick," and with those words Ginny dragged the wand down the front of Hermione's bra and spoke the incantation. "Reggipetto Asportare!"

The binding at the middle of the bra fizzled and then in a burst of movement the fabric ripped and the bra popped loose, slowly it disintegrated into nothingness. In seconds the entire bra had vanished, the only sign it had ever been there the strain marks where it had touched Hermione's soft skin.

Before Hermione could speak they were kissing again. She tried to move her hands, but even as she bucked her weight beneath Ginny's kiss, she was still trapped. Ginny pulled back slowly and chided her as she tried to follow. "Wait your turn," she said tapping the wand lightly against Hermione's exposed chest.

Ginny worked her way down Hermione's body fast, pulling the other girl to her whims. Hermione was breathing in ragged stippled gasps by the time Ginny's cheek was pressed against her inner thigh. She could feel each breath that Ginny took rolling up her leg.

The next part, Hermione knew. Though the anticipation would never get old, this time Ginny had total control though. She ran her fingers along Hermione's leg, creeping further up with each motion.

Hermione gulped at the air and her body went tense. She couldn't see what was happening but she could feel it. Her legs closed tight around Ginny's hand and an intense warmth over took her. She felt herself go numb and then it seemed as if every motion she made wasn't her own. Hermione arched her back against the bindings and found Ginny's free hand pushing against her chest, urging her down onto the bed. She let out a short shriek and gazed down over her breasts to see Ginny watching her.

Ginny slowed the thrusting of her fingers and whispered. “This okay?" she asked in a small voice.

A sound Hermione didn't intentionally make escaped her. But they were both sure it was a yes. From the moment Ginny's fingers had edged up inside of her she felt this ravenous greed burned inside of her. Hermione bent her knees now until her feet were flat against bed and pumped against Ginny's hand.

She couldn't breathe, everything was sweltering and her heart was thundering inside of her chest. Any little insecurity she had left fell away instantly. Ginny nuzzled her face up between Hermione's legs but it was too late. With a sharp, stifled cry Hermione bucked against the bed and kicked Ginny.

"Ow!" Hermione could barely hear Ginny shout in pain over the sound of her breathing and her heart. That hunger and warmth still ebbed through her body but she managed to strain against the twine hard to look down at Ginny. "No, really, I'm okay," Ginny said holding her mouth.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said.

"It's just nice to know I have that kind of power over you," she could see Ginny's smile under the corner of her hand.


	18. The Plan

Morning came too fast, bringing with it perilous clear skies and no hint of rain. Ginny and Hermione lived in a kind of surreal state of existence for the duration of the day. It didn't seem like any of the classes or study groups had anything to say that could penetrate their little bubble.

Dinner that night was quiet, it seemed the whole school was aware of the lunar cycle and what it brought. Ginny barely flinched when a third year walked by and congratulated her. "Amazing game last week…I'm shocked you were able to take back the cup after all of the point deductions.

Ginny shot a smile at her. "What can I say…the team knows how to do what they need to win," she said. She did all she could manage to sound convincingly happy but she didn't care whether it worked or not. At this point she was facing nothing less than a life as monster. As much as she hated to call it that, even sympathetic werewolves like Lupin wouldn't wish the curse on someone. While it did have its benefits, they were far out weighted by the constant need to worry you could hurt someone you loved.

The thought of love made Ginny look at Hermione and instantly think of the plans she'd been making in her head all week long. She could see Hermione was scheming something up too, she was always thinking and always planning. It was who she was. Though it seemed she didn't have anything to show for it yet as she hadn't told Ginny what they were to do.

Harry pushed in next to Ginny at the table. "How are you holding up?" he asked rubbing her back.

"I'm fine," she said. "Everyone thinks that the werewolves are going to have a hard time getting in but we know that won't be the problem, they just won't know we're expecting them as much as we are…"

"Are we?" asked Ron from across the table.

"We've got the Marauder's Map—they come anywhere near the school and we're going to see," Harry said.

Hermione cleared her throat. "You know we've been setting something up all along," she said. The meal was winding down and there was a wave of silence that overtook the room as Dumbledore got to his feet and walked toward the podium. Hermione pointed. "Looks like he's about to say something," she said.

"Attention all students," Dumbledore started. "I would like to remind you that tonight is the final full moon of the term and as such we're imposing strict rules for the night. Common rooms are to be the only place that any students should be after dark and Auror's will be stationed outside of the school at all angles for our protection. Mister Potter has informed me that they've brought in the very best that the Auror's office has to offer," he said.

"Dad's here?" Harry grimaced. "But he knows the Marauder's Map—he'll know the secret passages."

"He might know them, but he doesn't know they do," said Ginny. "The wolves will get in and we'll be able to get out to head them off before they put anyone else in danger."

"What are you planning?" asked Hermione.

Ginny sighed. "To fight, though I don't know exactly what I aim to do," she admitted.

Luna cut in. "Something has been bothering me and I'm surprised no one else brought it up, Ginny keeps saying that Fenrir and his men weren't the most skilled with magic. So how is it that they created a small army of Inferi?"

"They had help?" asked Harry.

"We have to consider the possibility," Hermione said. "It complicates things a bit more if they had strong magic backing them up," she said.

"It's always something," Ron said.

Pansy Parkinson was passing the table and she stopped near Hermione and Ginny. "I was trying to find Snape—he apparently didn't show up to his classes today and he's not anywhere to be found…I heard you had a special way of finding anyone in the school?" she said in a coy tone.

Ginny glanced to Harry. "I haven't seen him all day," Harry said. "It's odd, I didn't even think of it at the time. The prospect of not having to take Potions was all I could feel," he said.

"Maybe he's gearing up for tonight," Luna said. "He knows it's happening," she added in a whisper.

Pansy grimaced. "Well if Snape shows up, tell him I need to see him…it's kind of personal but I think if you just give him that much information, he'll come find me," she said as she walked away.

* * *

* * *

There was an hour between dinner and the mandatory curfew that Dumbledore had imposed. Since it wouldn't be wise to do so against the rules, Harry thought he should steal some time with Luna during that pinch of time. Ginny had claimed that the girl's bathroom where Myrtle haunted was now free real estate but he didn't believe it until he and Luna stepped into the cavernous restroom.

There were no sounds of wailing, moaning or crying. The floors were dry and hadn't been flooded for some time. Even after he called Myrtle she didn't show. He cracked a slight smile. "How's this even possible? She's been here so long…"

Luna shrugged. "Maybe she found something to be happy over?" she backed herself into one of the stalls with a sly smile on her face. Harry followed her, wrapping his hands around her slender waist. "So what did you ask me here for?" she said looking up at him.

He kissed Luna's forehead. "Just to spend time," he said as smoothed his thumb over the little strip of skin between the top of her skirt and the bottom of her jumper.

"You picked an odd place to be romantic…" Luna said glancing around, "…bathrooms are known to house Nargles."

Harry covered her lips with his. "I just don't want to miss spending at least some time with you, I know Hermione and Ginny said that for this to work we have to appear to be acting normal today. We can't look like we're going to do something incredibly stupid…"

Luna's hand was balled up, held between their chests and he could feel her heart beating through it. She was calm, Luna always seemed so calm. "I know Harry," she said.

"He's not after you, you know?" Harry said finally. "You can just hide away with everyone else. Your too young for this and you shouldn't get roped into Fenrir's game…"

In perhaps the most startling move Harry had ever seen Luna make, she slapped him across the face. It wasn't enough to hurt him badly, but he staggered away from her in shock. When he glanced up holding his cheek, Luna's gray eyes were brimming with tears. 

"Do you think I would leave you and Ginny and the rest of my friends to fend for themselves like that?" she asked, her usual airy demeanor replaced by something that seemed like a rage and fear mixed with a bit of sadness.

"No, I just—I really care about you and I want you to be okay," he said suddenly. For a long time there was silence between them and only the cadence of a dripping faucet marked the time. "Luna?"

"I'm going to be okay, Harry—I just thought you wanted to come here for a different reason and here you are trying to make me back down," Luna was still angry, her voice raised now.

Harry grimaced. "What different reason? Look, I'm sorry—it's your choice after all."

Luna dried her eyes on some tissue, tossed them in the toilet and closed the lid. "It is," she said. "Do you really need me to spell out what I thought we were here for?" asked Luna as she began to undo the buttons on her shirt and that sinister smile returned.

"I don't want you thinking I want to take advantage of you or anything, I mean I've never even…you know…" Harry trailed off.

"Taking it? I'm giving you the advantage," Luna had stripped the shirt off now. Her pale skin was luminous in the light that filtered down through the windows around the ceiling. Harry had seen her nude above the waist before, but this was different. It even scared him a little.

Still he edged toward her. "Are you sure about this?"

Luna hooked her hand up behind her back and undid the clasp of her bra, she flicked it to the garment onto the floor. "Ginny and Hermione said you were a bit dense, sweet, but dense," the back of her hand trailed down the side of his cheek.

Harry shook his head, stuttering slightly. "Wh—what do you want us to do?" he asked.

"You know, another random factoid about Nargles…they buzz around your head, messing things up. They love bathrooms and can't be seen by the naked eye," she spoke in an airy seductive whisper, "but the best way to ward the little buggers off is, well you know…”

Wide eyed Harry swallowed and looked her up and down. He could feel the warmth of her raw flesh through his shirt. There had been times in the last few weeks when he'd fought Luna off, but this time he could already feel his will power slipping and he didn't care. Maybe he'd been mistaken to hold back this long. Maybe he was afraid after what happened with Hermione.

"Now you're just making that up," he quipped.

"So what if I am?" Luna said. "You think it's all made up, what's one more lie?" she said as she whirled him around and pushed him back onto the toilet so that he was sitting on top of the lid. Before Harry could say anything Luna was straddling his lap and looking down into his eyes. He quivered nervously.

"The door?" Harry pointed.

"Quietly transfigured into a wall…" Luna answered.

"What about if we're late to see the others?" Harry gasped as she started to kiss his neck.

"They know where we are and what's going on," Luna whispered into his ear.

Harry let his hands roam the sides of her body, dragging his fingers over each inch of the soft, flawless skin. "Then what would you say if I told you I was ready to believe that lie?" he asked.

Luna just giggled as she pinned Harry's hands to the wall above his head with one hand. With the other she reached down and riffled with the button of his pants. He made no more excuses and didn't protest, it seemed that one way or another Luna was determined to get her war and he didn't see any advantage in stopping her.

* * *

* * *

"You two don't have to spend your last hours with me," Ron said. "I know you'd rather be off alone, you know…"

"Oh, can it Ron," Hermione said. "We're spending this time with you," she touched his arm. "You're our friend too…"

"Besides, we had plenty of time for what you're thinking about last night," Ginny smiled.

Hermione sighed. "And I'm paying for it," she said feigning sadness. "You're just too bloody rough," she said.

"Sorry," Ginny laughed.

"I just think you couldn't stand to see me not limping around like you," Hermione joked.

"Oh my God, can we just play chess?" asked Ron.

Ginny sighed. "You're just going to beat us some more," she said.

"It's better than hearing about you abusing other women," Ron said. "Sexually." He gulped.

"That's the key word here," Ginny said. "Sexually."

Ron inhaled deeply and glanced at the two of them. "It feels odd to be around a bunch of people who are hooking up right and left," Ron said. "You know?"

Ginny looked to Hermione and they both leaned in and kissed Ron on the cheeks. "It's okay…" Ginny said.

"…you've got us," Hermione finished the sentence.

"It's a good sentiment, but I just wish I had someone to spend time with alone," Ron said.

"Awe," Ginny said. "You know…you never really tried too hard with Harry's sister, you know?" asked Ginny.

Ron rolled his eyes. "She's a Hufflepuff and a Prefect, Hell she hardly even talks to Harry or me anymore," he said. "I don't think I've seen her speak to him this term, she even spent Christmas at Cho's…"

"Heather's a bit different," Hermione said. "She's just very goal oriented and bookish. Miss Lily was supposedly that way till Mister James got hold of her," she chuckled.

"And we did the same to you," Ginny said.

"Blimey, but me and a younger girl…and a Hufflepuff at that…" Ron said.

"Me and a younger girl," Hermione said pointing to herself and then to Ginny. "Now stop making excuses."

"I'll talk to her this summer," Ron said.

"You'll talk to her when this rubbish is over, just not before,” Hermione said. “She’ll tell for sure.”

Ginny nodded. “Show her you’re more mature than her dull brother’s dimwitted friend.”

There was a knock at the door to the Room of Requirement and then it edged open to reveal Luna and Harry. They stepped into the cavernous space, which had taken the form it usually held for the Defense Club meetings. Luna appeared to be glowing and Harry had a dopey smile plastered on his face. As they stopped just inside of the doors, he scratched at the back of his head, nervously averting his gaze.

"I take it everything got off okay?" Ron asked.

Luna nodded.

"We haven't got much time left," Ginny said. "We need to pass out the Portkeys and explain the first part of the plan," she said.

Hermione got to her feet and cleared her throat. "Right, I've made a series of Portkeys to bring us back to the Great Hall so that we can mount our attack," Hermione said. "They're all illegal of course, so best to keep them hidden." She passed the mundane objects out to them; a sock, a cup from the Hall, a spinning top, goggles used for Quidditch, and an empty bottle. "Now they won't become active until 8:50 PM, at that time we will pretend to go to bed, worried and then use them to port back to the Great Hall."

"But we can't hide there," Luna said.

"It's my belief that since the outside of the school is the focus and we'll have the Marauder's map, we can take refuge in the kitchens and emerge when Fenrir and his men show…" Hermione said.

"Full moon rises at 9:10 PM tonight, so we need to be quick," said Harry.

"We will be, the ritual will take me a few minutes to work, but I've had practice," Hermione said.

"How long will it hold the moon at bay?" asked Ron.

"No telling," Ginny answered. "But we only need a few minutes, the pain of the transformation should weaken them, so we need them to transform before Hermione works the ritual.”

"This might prove difficult," Luna said brushing a tendril of hair back behind her ear.

"It will be," Hermione said.

"And we could be wrong," admitted Harry. "They could be planning to leave this be or attack next year when we won't all be here."

Ginny shook her head. "No, it’s tonight, it has to be."


	19. The Final Full Moon

One minute Snape was walking into the Shrieking Shack for his meeting with Bellatrix and the next thing he knew he was waking up on the floor. He could see the dark sky between the slits in the wood of the shack and it hurt to move. His body throbbed with pain and his vision was wavering in and out of focus.

Slowly he stirred against the hard wood floor, something warm poured from the back of his head; he could fell it seeping down through his hair and pooling on the floor. Snape moved to roll and he heard a footstep somewhere across the room and then a familiar voice crackled through the air. "I see you're finally awake," he could hear the smile in Bellatrix's voice.

"What are you doing?" Snape rolled over to face her, trying to push himself up off the floor.

"Oh, didn't you think I knew? I'm not sure who sent you, but I know that you've by now figured out what's going on…" Bellatrix said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Snape said.

"Really Severus?" she asked. "You came here tonight to stop me, wasn't that the plan?"

Snape coughed. "Stop you from doing what?" his hands were bound, he couldn't move them apart. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The Inferi? You're too late; they've been stationed in the tunnels for some time now. They'll be ready to go any minute," she said. "And you'll be here unable to do anything."

"You sent those creatures?" Snape asked.

Bellatrix nodded. "Now you're catching hold of things, you're a bit slower than I expected," she said.

"Why would you want to hurt Draco Malfoy—I mean he's family."

"He's pathetic, spending his free time with that dirty Mud Blood whore," Bellatrix said. "Remind you of anyone?"

Snape jostled himself to sit up. She was aiming the wand at him now. "Just leave Lily out of this—she's done nothing wrong," he said.

"She should have died and I've suspected for some time it's your fault that she didn't," she said. "Do you think me stupid, Severus? Do you actually think with all of these years to figure it out, I wouldn't? And look at her, how does she thank you for saving her life? By marrying James Potter."

"She never knew what I did."

"I want you to admit it now," she leveled her wand down at his neck.

"I told Dumbledore that she was going to die if he didn't help her and he killed Slytherin's monster…then he made a deal with me, put me in his debt and had me watch you," Snape said.

"Why did he trust you to make the same mistake twice," the floor boards creaked in between Bellatrix's words.

Snape looked up into Bellatrix's eyes. "Because I loved Lily Evans," he said plainly.

"That's what I wanted to hear—you remember that I told you that sooner or later you'd have to pick sides. Even all those years ago in school," she said. "You still never understood. Blood trader is as bad as Mud blood, in my book." Bellatrix raised wand and there was a sudden burst of noise as something tore through the room toward her.

She looked toward the door to see a huge stag galloping the room's length and before she could redirect her curse, the beast slammed into her, pinning her against the wall. Her wand clattered to the floor and she grunted as the wood buckled against the weight.

The powerful beast's eyes flashed with rage and it bore its force into her, Bellatrix gasped in pain as something inside of her snapped. The creature was impossibly large and just unnatural looking and Snape whispered the word to himself as he realized what he was seeing. "An Animagus…" Snape said.

The stag morphed back, though the man that replaced it kept its arm pressed against Bellatrix's neck to hold her in place. "You tried to kill my wife…then you tried to kill my friend for saving my wife," James Potter was pressing Bellatrix into the wall hard as he snarled the words at her.

"How much did you hear?" she asked weakly.

"Enough to know the truth," he shot a glance to Severus and then tossed Bellatrix onto the floor at his side. James kicked her wand toward her. "Pick up your wand, Bella," James said.

Bellatrix held her ribs, they were obviously broken or bruised. "Why? Just kill me now if you're going to do it…"

"I want to tell everyone I watched the light fade from your eyes, you despicable bitch,” James Potter wasn't the jovial man that Snape was used to. Even in his teasing of Snape in school there had never been this tone of voice and determination. "Pick up…your bloody…wand," it seemed to be taking everything he had to hold back.

Bellatrix bent down and picked the wand up off the ground, when she brought it up to cast and went to twirl out of the way it was already too late. James ripped his wand upward through the air. "Sectumsempra!" he shouted. She was already starting the rotation of her first motion when the spell tore into her. She was cut in a spiraling motion and the cuts were too deep.

She toppled over to the ground with blood running out of her body from the gash traced up her body. James ran over to help Snape. "Come on, she'll bleed out at this rate, we need to get back to the others," James said.

"The passages here aren't safe," Snape informed him.

"I heard her, and from the sounds of the howls on the way over the roads might be inundated with wolves.

* * *

* * *

There wasn't time to get into the kitchens when the quintet ported into the Great Hall. A group of Inferi was filtering out into the hallway from one of the passages. Worse still were the sounds outside. It seemed the Auror's had their hands full with the wolves. Ginny and Harry pushed into the undead creatures that were shuffling about the halls.

"You're going to have to cast the ritual from inside of the Great Hall," Ginny told Hermione.

"That means you've all got to keep them off of me," she said. "I can't break concentration or it’s over!" Hermione said as she dashed back for the hall doors.

Luna sent a short burst of fire through the Inferi, bringing them down to the ground in a pile of ashes. "You can start now," Luna shouted over the next howl. "They've undoubtedly already transformed."

Ginny and Harry were cutting through the creatures while Ron kept them from getting down the hall toward the entrances to some of the dorms. Ron hadn't been too successful with controlling his fires but he warded them off with the bright light of his binding spells. Finally he tried a little fire to take out those nearest him with moderate success.

The Inferi were swarming out and the battle outside seemed to be raging on. Ginny was sure that she heard Dumbledore shout some indiscriminate curse. A few Inferi were escaping up the corridor and Ron was busy on the other end. Ginny went after them, leaving Harry alone. She swiped a curse at them, burning their mid sections out. The smoke in the hall was too much to see easily with and the smell was horrid, like burned rotten meat.

Something didn't make sense, why would the wolf pack send these creatures through a secret path and attack outside like that? Ginny couldn't think of an advantage that they were given by doing this.

Ginny turned back just in time to see one of the creatures going for Harry, Luna was on it before anyone else could be. She charged toward him burning the feet from beneath the Inferi that were after him. As the thing clattered to the floor Luna paused to glance back at Harry. Behind them, the statue passage where the Inferi had come from seemed to finally be empty until a huge beast leapt through the air and slammed Luna to the ground under its weight.

It roared and from the markings and the color of its coat, and the phony replacement paw, Ginny could deduce that it was Fenrir. Luna was pinned beneath his massive feet and not moving. He drew back to open his huge maw and just before he bit her Ginny threw up her fist and made a tight clenching motion with it. "Incarcerous," she said.

Tight twine wound its way around Fenrir's mouth, preventing him from sinking his teeth into Luna. He rolled to the side with a whine, scraping at the top of his nose and fighting to get the twine off as three other wolves appeared from the doorway that he'd come out of.

Then Ginny understood, Fenrir had sent a distraction to hold to Auror's outside while he slipped in the passages.

Hermione hadn't prepared for this level of difficulty out of the gate, it seemed that even before they had started to make their moves that night Fenrir had been setting up his pieces and locking in his plan. She felt like it was more proof that they were little more than foolish children. She spread the cloth out in front of herself on the floor and set out the bowl with the wolf's bane in it.

Luckily for her Snape wasn't around, it made it easier to sneak into his offices and steal some of his stash of potion ingredients. She swirled the bowl around and glared down at the list of instructions that she had meticulously copied onto the parchment. Part of her felt bad for being unable to get out there and help her friends but she knew this was important.

All the while she chanted the incantation with eyes half closed. "Percorrere Senza Meta…Obscura!"

She dashed the ingredients into the bowl as quickly as she could while watching the portions. Potions making wasn't an exact science but it required a level of balance to it. The final component was what made her unsure, it called for virgin blood. Not only was this bordering on dark magic, but she had been with only one person in what could truly be considered a sexual manner.

Something told her it only counted if it was with a man—magic was somewhat patriarchal that way, but this wasn’t the time for guessing. 

“Ronald! Please, come here!” Hermione shouted. “Ron!” 

“What?” He was next her suddenly.

“I need some of your blood, please?” 

“What?” 

“Hold still,” she said and he offered out his hand over the bowl. She transmuted her wand into a dagger and ran the blade across his palm. He winced as she sliced into him. The blood dripped freely into the bowl over the ingredients. She held her concentration, continuing the chant.

"Percorrere Senza Meta…Obscura!"

Hermione could feel something surging through her suddenly and a thin mist was spreading from the bowl on the floor before her. She tilted her head back to look at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, it was made to show the sky outside and she could see her spell beginning to work. The stars were slowly being obscured.

Fenrir was writhing against the ground now, his body flexing and rippling in pain. Ginny kept her eye on the werewolf and his companions. But Harry rushed to Luna's side rocking her slightly, "Luna? Luna are you okay?" there was no response.

Ginny's eyes shot to the side to look for Ron, he was at Hermione’s side and fairing well. Ron's spell work wasn't as good as Hermione or Luna, but he was dousing the undead creatures in waves of flames that reduced them to struggling automatons and then to ash. The fire flaring up in front of him glowed over his pale fast as he continually slung the spell.

On the ground just a few feet from her, Fenrir moved to climb to his feet. His arms trembled as he pushed up from the floor. "This…this is your doing, you little whore!" he said. "I'll make sure you feel every agonizing moment of torment!" he barred his teeth, the animal still apparent beneath the surface.

One of the men that had followed Fenrir arched its back to pounce. "Destructo!" Harry yelled and his spell gouged a chunk out of the man's midsection, there was an explosion of blood that made both Ginny and Ron pause.

The two other men turned on Harry and Ron, taking up wands and rushing over the pile of scorched Inferi. Fenrir charged for Ginny and she didn't even have time to think before he was bounding over the floor to her. She stooped down and tapped her wand against the floor, just before Fenrir could reach her a stonewall shot up from the ground and stopped his progress.

"These parlor tricks can't stop me for long," he said clambering against the wall.

* * *

* * *

Fenrir was right, but Luna didn't know if she would have the chance to use the spell—she didn't know if she could bring herself to do it. It was a lot to wrestle with, but she knew that if she didn't do something there would be nothing to stop them from sharing the same fate as Luna.

Luna was engulfed in darkness, her body slumped over against the cold floor. But she could still smell the burning sinew and hear the sounds of battle nearby. The pounding of feet on the floor vibrated through her and something warm and wet covered her face. She could taste it too…blood. It occurred to her that she might not look cute mauled, and even less so as a werewolf. She wiped at the blood. It would take all her concentration, she blocked the sound out and blocked out the rest of the world around her.

With the tip of her finger she drew in the floor with her own blood, etching a pattern as quickly as she could blind. She couldn't let anyone see, or make a noise. It was like Ginny said, Luna always loved to make crafts and even in this current incapacitated state, she could serve some purpose.

* * *

* * *

Ron and Harry were beat back down the hall by the remaining two members of the wolf pack. They were faring better than Ginny, she had been knocked back into the wall and narrowly avoided Fenrir's claw like fingers. She fired a stinging curse into his face but it didn't seem to faze him.

He was fast and there seemed to be some inherent magic that he was hiding himself. When Ginny backed off, trying to get some ground between them, he flicked an orange curse at her and it buried itself in her stomach. The skin burned and boiled, she doubled over clutching her hand to it as she threw a few distractions up in his way.

"Destructo!" she shouted but the curse narrowly missed him and he continued to advance on her.

Fenrir flung a lose piece of rubble at Ginny and she batted it down with the back of her arm. The rock cut into her and she winced. Before she could recover, he was upon her and knocked her back against the opposite wall. From where she landed, she could see Hermione shrouded in mist in the Great Hall, still concentrating with her eyes closed.

A sneer escaped Fenrir as he followed her gaze back through the doors. "Ah, I see what's happening here," he said as he turned to go after Hermione. He stalked toward the room as Ginny fought to get to her feet. One of the rocks had cut into her leg and there was blood everywhere.

As Fenrir burst through the doors and continued to walk, taunting her with sly gazes back over his shoulder. Ginny took her first lumbering step and then there was a burst of cerulean light. A tiny rabbit popped up in front of her in a flash. "The schools protections…have been canceled…hurry…I can't hold it…" it said in Luna's voice.

Ginny shot a glance to Luna to find the blonde laying face down near the wall with a bloody hand outstretched and something drawn into the floor in her own blood. With a twist of her body, the way she had seen Hermione do it, she Apparated with a great CRACK!

By the time she reappeared in the in the Great Hall Fenrir was holding Hermione up against himself, sniffing at her hair. He was using her as a shield. His face had started to change too, without her ritual's ongoing influence the moon was returning. Ginny gazed up at the ceiling to see the sky slowly clearing. She didn't have time to do anything. Luna had probably meant for her Apparate behind Fenrir and get the hit in, but before she could do that he would tear Hermione's throat out, she was sure of it.

Then she heard Dumbledore's voice echoing to her from the not too distant past. "All Dark Magic comes from Love, it's a simple fact my boy. The Killing Curse, Fiendfyre, all of it—made of Love. Its perverted form is a tool of evil, but it's possible to tap into the true nature of those spells. The power might be too much for someone to assume, even at the level of myself. At the moment that Hermione used that spell, she wasn't thinking of destroying the Inferi or inflicting damage upon them, she was filled with the purest desire to protect out of Love and it consumed her. It's a powerful thing."

Ginny understood in that instant and she brought her arms up and there was a rush of moments that flowed over her mind's eye. Hermione kissing her on the pitch, them making love above Time's Square, laughing with Ron and Harry, breaking into Draco's room, that last stormy night and there were things yet to come—Christmases spent with combined families, Sirius and James teasing her and Hermione—

It passed through her head so fast that before she knew it, she brought her hand down with the wand in it. Fenrir was still laughing at her when she yelled the incantation. "Avada Kedavra!" she shouted.

Fenrir's face went blank with shock as the swirling mass of green energy rocketed off the tip of Ginny's wand and burned toward him. It sailed through the air and slammed into Hermione's chest. She let out a stifled gasp and her brown eyes welled up. And a moment later there was a burst of green light that threw her and Fenrir apart.

Ginny ran to love. "Mione, Mione, oh my God, I'm sorry," she said. "I knew it would work—it had to," she said.

Hermione looked up at her, somewhat horrified. "Did you fire a Killing Curse through me?" she asked, mortified.

"Yeah, look he's dead! I knew it would work—it's like Dumbledore said, it's made of love it would pass right through!" Ginny said excitedly.

Hermione slapped her hard. "Oi, I'm sorry, it was made of love, I thought it'd pass through you!" she fumed. "You can't go firing unforgivable, illegal curses through people, Ginny!"

But before she could say much more, Ginny threw her arms around Hermione's shoulders and hugged her tight. "The others," Ginny said suddenly. "Luna—Luna's…we need to get back out to check on her. She's badly hurt!"

They moved for the door, Ginny glanced back at Fenrir, he was already starting to go pale-green from the spell. Hermione pulled her away from the scene and out into the hall.


	20. Epilogue

The week before graduation was rainy and despite the werewolves having been killed off, the students still stayed indoors. Hermione and Ginny were cuddled up on a bench at the edge of the covered walkway that led out toward Hagrid's cabin. Hermione lifted a spoonful of ice-cream to Ginny's mouth. "You can sit here and act like you're a baby all you want, I'm not going to keep feeding you," she said slipping the spoon in her mouth.

"You say that, then you keep doing it," Ginny said with a smile.

They had only sat down a moment before to finish the small bowl off, Dumbledore had made it though he didn't say where he learned the recipe. Everyone had marveled at how delicious it was before heading their separate ways.

Hermione grimaced. "You just watch, you're going to be sitting here ice-creamless and alone before you know it," she said spooning another bite into Ginny's mouth.

"Mmm, okay," Ginny said accepting the spoon.

This spot, the bench, had been picked by Ginny, though Hermione couldn't figure out why. The mist from the rain blew in every once in a while and dampened them, but Hermione nor Ginny complained about it. The campus was quiet, most of the students were in the common rooms. Then Hermione craned her neck to follow where Ginny was looking.

Out in the rain, on the path between the forest and the castle Ron was walking with a raven haired girl with pale skin. She wore the yellow and black of Hufflepuff House and it took a second but Hermione realized who it was. "Ginny—that's not why you came out, right? To spy on Heather and Ron?" Hermione said.

Ginny's face reddened. "Well he's my big brother—you've seen how vicious Harry can be, I don't want Heather to rip him apart," she said.

"Ron's a big boy, he can take care of himself," Hermione said brushing her hip against Ginny playfully.

"I'm vicious, am I?" asked Harry who was coming out of the doors next to them. "I see how it is!" he laughed. Luna was at Harry's side smiling snidely.

"Sorry Harry," Ginny said. "How's your eye Luna?"

Luna's eye had been badly hurt in the fight; she had been wearing a patch since that night. "It's getting better, Snape and Lily say it takes a while to grow eyes—its different than bones and limbs for some reason. Harry says he thinks the eye patch is sexy though…" she trailed off smiling.

"Do we get to have any privacy," Harry asked pulling her close.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm having your turn-ons published in The Quibbler," Luna said with a completely straight face. She stared at Harry and then burst into laughter.

"That's not funny," he said. "I just came to tell you that my mum wanted both of you over at the house for an end of term party. Her and dad are serious, he even went and invited Snape—its creepy, they've been nice to one another a lot recently…"

Hermione sighed, brushing the hair out of her face. "Snape really deserves it though, you should take it easier on him too," she said.

Ginny wasn't paying attention again, as she had turned back to watch Ron and Heather out on the path. "That prat—they're kissing!" she said.

Harry nearly bowled Luna over trying to drag her behind him. "Ron and my sister? Seriously? We'll see how he likes getting punched in the face!"

"Leave them be you two," Hermione chimed.

"Yeah, you're dating someone younger too, after all," Luna said.

"Hm, yeah. Don't even think about the, just…" Hermione trailed off and pulled Ginny toward her and into a kiss. As they continued to kiss a cold feeling overwhelmed them and they trembled violently. Their lips parted and they gasped. Luna screamed in shock at the sight before her.

Right where they had been kissing was the pale, ghostly, visage of Draco Malfoy smiling. "You two couldn't wait till I got back to finish playing kissy face—bet's over, you're free!" he said.

"Get out of us!" Ginny scooted away. "That stings!" she screamed as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Draco hovered up into the air. "Nice to see you too, Ginny," he said. The shock ebbed over her face when she realized whom she was speaking to. They were all shocked actually.

"I don't understand," Hermione said. "You've been a ghost all this time?"

"It took me a while to get back," he said. "But I could talk to certain creatures, like House Elves…" he said. "They're kind of shitty on the conversation end, but I got Dobby to help you. He came to warn Ginny and even hid your things by the entrance Fenrir was using to access the school," he said.

"That was you?" Harry said. "I saw your name on the map…I thought it was broken or I was imagining it—why couldn't we see you?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know the rules. So anyone seen that Helena Ravenclaw, she's pretty fit, you know,” he said. "Think I can get her or Myrtle to flash me? How do ghosts get off?"

"Wow, you're one hundred percent about sex. Even after you’re dead," Hermione giggled.

Luna shook her head. "I certainly can't flash anyone, except Harry," she said kissing him on the cheek.

"That's sweet, Potty's got a girlfriend," Draco said. "Well I'm off to harass Myrtle or something," he said.

As he flew away Ginny hollered after him. "She's not back yet—took a holiday!"

"I see, well I'll see you next year too!" he said throwing a sly smile back in her direction.

* * *

* * *

At the center of the North Sea in a cell set in the middle of Azkaban Prison Tom Riddle paced the edge of his cell barefoot. His face was pale, scarred from the fire and his hair gone. His eyes were huge and bugged out and his nose had been reduced to little more than a pair of slits…all because of the masked children that invaded the jail those weeks ago.

At the back of his cell, droning on endlessly with questions and conversation starters was the ghost of the girl whose murder had landed him here. Myrtle. She talked about everything and nothing at all, and no matter how often he failed to answer, she never failed to keep talking.

"Ooo, Tom do you remember when we had to go on nature walks as first years and I got stuck in your group. You were really rude to me for no reason. Why were you so rude? It seems like we kind of had a love-hate relationship. Do you want to play jacks or wizard chess, or ooo exploding snap?"

Riddle growled at her, his horrid visage twisting in fury. "I haven't got the parts for those things!" he yelled.

"We could imagine them…or use rocks from the floor…" Myrtle suggested.

"You're a ghost, you can't touch anything!" he said.

"And you're in prison," she remarked with a cackle. "Now tell me whose fault is it that we're both in this condition?"


End file.
